WALES

Food Labelling

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  whether food and catering services in her Department plan to implement calorie labelling on menus and display boards;
	(2)  what steps the food and catering services in her Department are taking to ensure the country of origin of foods are labelled on its menus and display boards.

David Jones: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr Bain) on 8 March 2011, Official Report, column 909W.

Newport: Gwent

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2011, Official Report, column 954W, on Newport, Gwent, what the (a) purpose and (b) venue was of each visit to Newport undertaken by (i) her and (ii) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales since May 2010.

David Jones: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Purpose Venue Minister 
			 Discuss Ryder Cup preparations Celtic Manor Resort Secretary of State 
			 Visit successful Welsh business JoJo Maman Bebe, Oxwich Road Secretary of State 
			 Attend Institute of Directors' Autumn Business Leaders' Luncheon Celtic Manor Resort Secretary of State 
			 Attend Ryder Cup Celtic Manor Resort Secretary of State 
			 Participate in Question Time recording The Riverfront Theatre Secretary of State 
			 Attend KPMG Business Lunch Celtic Manor Resort Secretary of State 
			 Visit to an voluntary organisation and host Big Society Seminar RASCAL and YMCA Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Audit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria (a) his Department and (b) its public bodies use when deciding whether and when to hold an internal audit; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office internal auditors operate to Government Internal Audit Standards.
	My Department does not have executive agencies.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what risk registers are held by the public bodies for which his Department is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: Corporate risk registers are held by all of the non-departmental public bodies for which my Department is responsible.
	Effective risk management is an integral component of the corporate governance arrangements of all of the Northern Ireland Office's sponsored bodies.

PRIME MINISTER

Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Prime Minister how many times he has visited a (a) university research department or (b) commercial centre of research since May 2010.

David Cameron: I have meetings and discussions with a wide range of organisations at a variety of locations around the country, including research centres. For instance, I visited BT's Adastral park on 5 December 2011. A strong competitive science and research base is a crucial part of securing sustainable economic growth and creating jobs of the future.

Festivals and Special Occasions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Prime Minister whether he took part in any events in an official capacity to mark (a) St George's day, (b) St Patrick's day, (c) St David's day and (d) St Andrew's day in 2011.

David Cameron: The Government and their bodies support a number of events to signify the importance of these dates, including flying their flags on a number of Government buildings.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if he will estimate the average level of council tax per capita for (a) Eastleigh, (b) Amber Valley, (c) North Hertfordshire, (d) Broadland, (e) Stafford, (f) Epping Forest, (g) Swale, (h) Warwick, (i) East Hertfordshire, (j) St Albans, (k) Guildford, (l) Cherwell, (m) Lancaster, (n) Dacorum, (o) Maidstone and (p) Redcar and Cleveland in each year between 2008-09 and 2011-12;
	(2)  if he will estimate the average level of council tax per capita for (a) Vale of White Horse, (b) Waverley, (c) Horsham, (d) South Kesteven, (e) East Devon, (f) Braintree, (g) King's Lynn and West Norfolk and (h) Tendring in each year between 2008-09 and 2011-12.

Bob Neill: Figures on average council tax per dwelling and average Band D council tax by local authority can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/counciltax/
	Figures on council tax requirements by local authority can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/revenueexpenditure/
	Mid-year population estimates by local authority area are published by the Office for National Statistics:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/population/population-change/population-estimates

Parliamentary Written Questions

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many parliamentary questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day by his Department have remained unanswered for a period of two months since May 2010.

Bob Neill: 20 (0.5%) of around 3,900 written parliamentary questions answered by the Department in the House of Commons between the 2010 General Election and 31 October 2011 were answered two months or more after their due date for reply. 16 of these were ordinary written questions and four were named day questions.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Gurkhas: Finance

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2011, Official Report, column 430W, on Gurkhas: Aldershot, which local authorities will receive funding to support the integration of retired Gurkhas; how much each local authority will receive; and what methodology will be used to allocate the funding.

Andrew Stunell: DCLG Ministers and officials have met Gurkha charities and local authorities to understand the needs of local areas with a significant population of Gurkhas and how we might work with a small number of local authorities and Gurkha charities to support wider settlement. My officials have met Gurkha charities and the chief executive of Rushmoor borough council to discuss the impact of the settlement of Gurkhas and their families on the local community.
	We have written to the chief executives of local authorities with Gurkha veterans asking for their experience and ideas. When we have received their responses, and following further conversations with Gurkha charities, we will make a decision on how to distribute available funds.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Civil Disorder

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the use of (a) the internet and (b) mobile telephones in (i) disseminating information about and (ii) encouraging participation in recent public disorder; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the operators of mobile telephone companies on the provision of information to the police about individuals who (i) solicited participation and (ii) participated (A) directly and (B) indirectly in recent public disorder; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the number of offenders who (a) solicited participation and (b) participated (i) directly and (ii) indirectly in recent public disorder by use of (A) the internet and (B) mobile telephones; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: It is clear that social networking sites were used to co-ordinate some of the criminality in the disorder in August. We do not have a clear picture of how many of those committing offences made use of such services.
	On 25 August, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, held a constructive meeting with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Metropolitan Police Force and representatives from the social media industry. The discussions looked at how law enforcement and the networks can build on existing relationships and co-operation to prevent the networks being used for criminal behaviour.

Civil Disorder

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to review the use of new methods of using mobile technology following the public disorder of August 2011.

Nick Herbert: On 25 August 2011, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, held a constructive meeting with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Metropolitan Police Service and representatives from the social media industry. Companies made clear their commitment to removing illegal content and, when appropriate, closing accounts, whether at the request of the police or because of a report from other users. It was agreed to step up co-operation to ensure that these processes are working effectively.
	ACPO is also taking forward work to develop the capability of police forces to use social media as a means of communicating and engaging with communities.

Firearms: Crime

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of public opinion on what constitutes a gun crime; and whether her Department's definition of a gun crime accords with that opinion.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office makes regular assessments of the threat posed by gun crime including issues relating to the definition of this category of offence.

Metropolitan Police: Finance

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on the budget of the SO14 Royalty Protection Unit of the Metropolitan Police for the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

Damian Green: holding answer 29 November 2011
	We are unable to provide detailed information on the budget provided to SO14 Royalty Protection Unit of the Metropolitan Police. To do so would compromise the integrity of the security arrangements in place for members of the Royal Family.
	We can provide details of the aggregate Home Office Dedicated Security Post (DSP) Grant which provides funding for police officers and staff who carry out protection duties. These duties relate to the protection of members of the Royal Family and their residences; and the protection of public figures, and their official and private residences. In 2010-11, £128 million was spent under the DSP Grant.

Police: Wales

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many (a) special constables and (b) police community support officers (i) were assigned to duties in Dyfed Powys in (A) 2009 and (B) 2010 and (ii) have been assigned to duties in that area in 2011;
	(2)  how many police officers there were in Dyfed Powys police in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Nick Herbert: The latest available information, which is set out in the following table, shows the number of police officers, special constables and police community support officers in Dyfed Powys police force between 2009 and 2011. Police officers and police community support officer figures are full-time equivalent which have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Special constables figures are given as headcount measures.
	
		
			 Number of police officers, special constables and police community support officers in Dyfed Powys police force between 2009 and 2011 
			 As at 31March  each year Police officers (1) Special constables (2) Police community support officers (1) 
			 2009 1,197 176 82 
			 2010 1,195 171 83 
			 2011 1,157 186 80 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Special constable figures are given as headcount measures.

UK Border Agency: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will ask the UK Border Agency to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 2 November 2011 regarding a constituent, ref: M1309525 and CTS ref: B28057/11.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 6 December 2011.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Employment and Support Allowance

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 12 October 2011, Official Report, columns 426-7W, on employment and support allowance, if he will estimate the level of the disregard for (a) personal and (b) occupational pensions in employment and support allowance calculations if the level had been uprated by the consumers price index since 2001; and if he will estimate the financial effect of such uprating on an individual with £110 personal pension and no other income.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is in the following table. Based on the information in the table a person on contributory employment and support allowance with an occupational pension of £110.00 a week would have their benefit reduced by £3.95 a week.
	
		
			 Consumer prices index date Consumer prices index rate of increase (percentage) Benefit year Threshold (£) 
			 September 2000 1.00 April 2001 85.00 
			 September 2001 1.30 April 2002 85.85 
			 September 2002 0.90 April 2003 86.95 
			 September 2003 1.50 April 2004 87.75 
		
	
	
		
			 September 2004 1.10 April 2005 89.05 
			 September 2005 2.40 April 2006 90.05 
			 September 2006 2.40 April 2007 92.20 
			 September 2007 1.70 April 2008 94.40 
			 September 2008 5.20 April 2009 96.00 
			 September 2009 1.10 April 2010 101.00 
			 September 2010 3.10 April 2011 102.10 
			 Note: Benefit rates are normally increased from April each year. The rate of increase is based on the previous September's inflation rate. Contributory employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit for new claims from October 2008. Incapacity benefit and employment support allowance have the same threshold for occupational and personal pension income of £85.00 a week.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the introduction of universal credit, what definition of (a) in employment and (b) off benefit his Department will use for the Work programme.

Chris Grayling: From the introduction of universal credit in 2013, we will continue to reward our Work programme contractors for getting claimants into work and keeping them there, in the same way that we do now.
	We will be working in partnership with our contractors to develop an equivalent Work programme outcome definition which aligns current contracts with universal credit.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish details of the penalties for early termination of contracts under the (a) Flexible New Deal and (b) Pathways to Work programmes.

Chris Grayling: Discussions to agree settlements in closing Flexible New Deal contracts are currently in train. Information on settlement costs will be published once agreements have been reached with all contractors. No penalties were incurred in respect of the Pathways to Work programme.

Employment Schemes: Apprentices

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he intends to publish data on the number of job outcomes under the Work programme that result from placement of an apprenticeship.

Chris Grayling: As a minimum, DWP currently expects to publish referral figures from spring 2012 and job outcome figures from autumn 2012. DWP expects to make these publicly available by various breakdowns including age; gender; ethnicity; disability; provider; local authority; parliamentary constituency; and contract package area. However, this is dependant on the availability and quality of data from the administrative systems.
	Presently, we do not plan to publish data on the number of job outcomes that result from placement of an apprenticeship. The exact details of what Work programme Official Statistics we will publish will be available once we have developed more detailed requirements and are confident that the data are of sufficient quality to publish.
	An information note detailing the Work programme Official Statistics release strategy can be found at the following website:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page= statistical_summaries
	Included in the note is an invitation for feedback on the type of statistics users would like to see made available for the Work programme.
	As soon as we are confident we have reliable data we will pre-announce an exact release date via this website and on the UK Statistics Authority publication hub. Statistics will be published in the DWP quarterly statistical summary and via an internet based tabulation tool offering users bespoke breakdowns of the headline statistics.

Housing Benefit

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people receive local housing allowance in respect of (a) a shared room, (b) one bedroom, (c) two bedrooms, (d) three bedrooms, (e) four bedrooms and (f) five bedrooms in each local authority in Wales.

Steve Webb: Estimates of the numbers of local housing allowance (LHA) recipients on each rate, by local authority area, are published on the Department for Work and Pensions website (Annex 2, Table 5):
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-hb-shared-accommodation-age-threshold.pdf

Housing Benefit: Brent

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much discretionary housing payment was allocated to the London borough of Brent in the last five years; and what proportion of the funding was used in each year.

Steve Webb: The following table shows how much Government contribution towards discretionary housing payments was allocated to the London borough of Brent, how much of the Government contribution they claimed, how much they spent in excess of the Government contribution and how much they spent on discretionary housing payments as a percentage of the Government contribution for each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Government contribution towards discretionary housing payments (£) Amount claimed against the Government contribution (£) Amount spent in excess of the Government contribution (£) % of the Government contribution spent 
			 2006-07 250,674 250,674 1,850 100.74 
			 2007-08 230,888 230,888 19,966 108.65 
			 2008-09 254,714 208,319 0 81.79 
			 2009-10 236,294 236,294 0 100.00 
			 2010-11 226,149 226,149 348 100.15

Housing Benefit: Females

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents in Wales receive housing benefit; and what proportion of such claimants are female.

Steve Webb: The information requested on lone parents in Wales receiving housing benefit and the percentage that are female is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Lone parents 
			  Caseload Percentage who are female 
			 Wales 57,770 94.1 
			 Notes: 1. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. 2. Percentage has been rounded to the nearest decimal place. 3. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. An extended payment is a payment that may be received for a further four weeks when they start working full time, work more hours or earn more money. 4. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. 5. The data is available monthly from November 2008 and August 2011 is the latest available. 6. For this analysis lone parents are those who are single with child dependant(s). 7. Caseload figure includes less than 1% of cases where gender is not recorded/missing. Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) August 2011.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect on housing benefit claimants of the introduction of a size criteria in the social rented sector in each local authority in Wales.

Steve Webb: The information is not available.
	The estimated impact of changes to housing benefit for tenants living in the social rented sector is based upon information collected in the Department's Family Resources Survey. Because the survey collects information from only a sample of households, we cannot produce reliable estimates for the number of claimants likely to be affected by the size criteria in each local authority area.
	In February 2011 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) produced an impact assessment entitled “Under-occupation of social housing”, coinciding with the publication of the Welfare Reform Bill.
	The impact assessment included regional estimates for the number of housing benefit claimants living in the social rented sector who were likely to be affected by the introduction of the size criteria. This included an estimate of the likely impact on Welsh housing benefit claimants.
	The impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf

Housing Benefit: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in (a) Wales and (b) each local authority in Wales will be worse off following the introduction of the housing benefit cap.

Chris Grayling: Estimates of the numbers affected in each local authority area by the introduction of caps on local housing allowance (LHA) rates and restricting LHA levels to the four bedroom rate are published on the Department for Work and Pensions website:
	(Table 22)
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/impacts-of-hb-proposals.pdf

New Deal Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of referrals were dealt with by voluntary sector providers in each year of the Flexible new deal programme.

Chris Grayling: DWP held 24 contracts with 14 prime providers for Flexible new deal and none of those providers were from the voluntary sector.
	Each prime provider had a supply chain of sub-contracts in place which included organisations from the voluntary sector. Data on the onward referral of claimants from prime providers to sub-contracted providers is not something that was recorded for Flexible new deal.

Pay

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made of the value of benefits in addition to annual salary given to the top one per cent. of earners in (a) 1981 and (b) 2011.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available either for benefits in kind or for state benefits.
	Related information on amounts of taxable benefits in kind and expenses by income for years 2002-03 to years 2007-08 are published in table 4.2 on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/taxable_benefits/menu.htm
	Related information on the receipt of state support by equivalised income quintile for working-age individuals for 2009-10 are published in Table 5.3 of the Households Below Average Income publication at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai/hbai2010/index.php?page=contents

Social Justice Directorate

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of his Department's budget allocated to the Social Justice Directorate in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

Chris Grayling: The Department's planned allocation set aside for the Social Justice Directorate across these years cannot be separately identified because priorities and allocations are continuously reviewed.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on support to fund additional work for people who left benefit and meet the Work programme's definition of in work but who will not receive working tax credit from April 2012 as a result of changes to the hours rule.

Chris Grayling: Work programme providers are paid for supporting people into work and helping them to stay there, for up to two years depending on the participants' circumstances. We have not specified what support the providers should give to participants once they find work—we expect them to innovate and find the most effective way of supporting them, reflecting their individual circumstances.

Unemployment

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with Work programme providers since the publication of the Office for Budget Responsibility's new unemployment forecasts.

Chris Grayling: The DWP officials managing Work programme contracts will be responsible for communications with providers concerning the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts.

Unemployment: Ex-servicemen

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the (a) employability and (b) employment retention of veterans.

Maria Miller: All new claimants for jobseekers allowance are assessed by Jobcentre Plus staff to ensure the most appropriate help is in place throughout their claim to support their employability.
	The Department for Work and Pensions does not routinely record whether benefit claimants are former armed forces personnel. Also, the Labour Force Survey does not record whether respondents are former armed forces personnel.
	We are looking into ways of improving knowledge on the employment and benefit outcomes of ex-service personnel.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many successful prosecutions for electoral registration fraud there were in each region in each of the last five years.

Mark Harper: Electoral Commission figures show that the number of convictions for electoral registration fraud across the United Kingdom over the last three years was as follows:
	
		
			  Convictions 
			 2008 1 
			 2009 1 
			 2010 — 
		
	
	The Government do not collect or hold this data, but these statistics can be found in the Electoral Commission's ‘Analysis of cases of alleged electoral malpractice' accessible through the following internet links:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/109012/Integrity-report-FINAL-no-embargo.pdf
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/83702/063-Allegations-Report-final.pdf
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/74588/Allegations-of-Electoral-Malpractice-Web-Final.pdf
	The data has only been collected in this format since 2008.

CABINET OFFICE

Advisory Services

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when his Department's review of free advice services will conclude; and when he expects to report the outcome of the review to the House.

Nick Hurd: The review of the free advice service sector announced on 21 November 2011 has now started and will conclude early next year. An appropriate announcement will be made at the relevant time.

Air Pollution: Cabinet Committees

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many meetings of the (a) Home Affairs and (b) Economic Affairs Cabinet Sub-Committees have considered the effects of government policy on (i) air quality and (ii) the natural environment since May 2010;
	(2)  which Cabinet Sub-Committees have discussed plans for meeting EU air quality limit values under the Ambient Air Quality Directive.

Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
	In line with the constitutional convention of collective decision-making, and section 2 of the Ministerial Code, the Government do not disclose details of the internal process through which decisions are taken.
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is responsible for air quality (with the Secretary of State for Transport and the natural environment, and sits on the Economic Affairs and Home Affairs Cabinet Committees, where a wide range of issues are discussed.

Charitable Donations: Fraud

Marcus Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress he has made in steps to tackle charity bag doorstep collection fraud.

Nick Hurd: These crimes are unacceptable and risk undermining the confidence of the generous donating public. I continue to encourage and support collaborative work between the charity sector, commercial recyclers, licensing and enforcement agencies, and government. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has made good progress in building intelligence and working with police forces to tackle the criminal gangs that are behind much of this crime. I also know that the Fund Raising Standards Board (FRSB), in collaboration with other stakeholders, has just launched a new public awareness campaign to tackle bogus charity collections and encourage the public to give with care. The FRSB has written to Members of this House inviting support for the campaign.

Government Departments: Databases

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the autumn statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 29 November 2011, Official Report, columns 799-810, and the paper Further Detail on Open Data Measures in the Autumn Statement 2011, what discussions he has had with the Office for National Statistics on each of the measures listed in the paper prior to their announcement; what the outcome was of the discussions on each such measure; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Comprehensive stakeholder engagement was undertaken in developing open data measures which were announced in the Chancellor's autumn statement, including meeting with data users and the Office for National Statistics. The ONS will continue to be a key stakeholder for the Cabinet Office Transparency Team given their particular position providing national statistics.

Members: Correspondence

Alan Beith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to reply to the letter of 19 July 2011 from the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed on a claim under the Civil Injury Benefit Scheme.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office has no record of receiving a letter from the right hon. Member dated 19 July 2011. I have responded to his subsequent letter on the same topic today.

Public Sector: Part-time Employment

Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the proportion of public sector workers who work part-time in Wales; and what proportion of such part-time workers are women.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate he has made of the proportion of public sector workers who work part-time in Wales; and what proportion of such part-time workers are women. 85390
	For the period July-September 2011 the estimated proportion of public sector workers in Wales who work part-time was 27 per cent. The proportion of these workers who were women was 87 per cent. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are not seasonally adjusted. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	In the LFS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The public sector estimates provided do not correspond to official Public Sector Employment estimates. Those are derived directly from employers and are based on National Accounts definitions, but do not include a gender breakdown.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Food Labelling

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether food and catering services in (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible plan to implement calorie labelling on menus and display boards;
	(2)  what steps the food and catering services in (a) his Department and (b) public bodies for which he is responsible are taking to ensure the country of origin of foods are labelled on its menus and display boards.

John Penrose: The Department does not source food as part of its day to day business, following the closure of the staff canteen in December 2009. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not hold the information requested for its public bodies.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much his Department spent in (a) Birmingham, (b) Newcastle, (c) Wakefield, (d) Manchester, (e) Leeds, (f) Liverpool, (g) Coventry, (h) Bristol, (i) Sheffield, (j) Bradford, (k) Leicester and (l) Nottingham in the last financial year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much funding his Department has allocated to Birmingham in (a) ring-fenced and (b) non-ring fenced funding grants for each of the next three years.

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport analyses funding on a regional basis and not by individual cities across the country. To identify funding by geographical location could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Parliamentary Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of questions for ordinary written answer received a substantive response within (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30 and (d) more than 30 sitting days in the 2010-12 session to date.

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport received 1,973 ordinary written parliamentary questions for answer from the start of this parliamentary Session to 30 November 2011. The following table shows the proportion of questions which received substantive replies within the timescale specified.
	
		
			  Number which received a substantive reply in: 
			 Ordinary written PQs tabled this Session 10 sitting days 20 sitting days 30 sitting days 30+ sitting days 
			 1,973 1,768 (89.6%) 129 (6.5%) 76 (3.85%) 0 
		
	
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Gambling: Licensing

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what timetable he has set for the introduction of a secondary gaming licence for overseas gambling operators.

John Penrose: We are committed to taking forward this legislation and will introduce it at the earliest opportunity. The Government have a very full legislative programme, however, and we are pursuing all options.

Horse Racing: Betting

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport with reference to the Gambling Act 2005, when he expects the full agreement between the racecourse bookmakers and (a) Arena Leisure and (b) Jockey Club Racing to be announced.

John Penrose: We understand that an agreement between the racecourse bookmakers and Arena Leisure has been reached. The discussions with Jockey Club Racing, although progressing, are yet to be fully completed. Departmental officials are in close and regular contact with the Federation of Racecourse Bookmakers Ltd (FRB) and the Racecourse Association (RCA) over the discussions. I strongly encourage both sides to find a way to reach agreement before the end of the year.

Mass Media: Young People

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had on the negative portrayal of teenagers, including teenage mothers, in the media.

Edward Vaizey: We are committed to a media free from Government intervention. However, while respecting this independence, we continue to look to all media to deal responsibly and sensitively to public concerns about the portrayal of women and young people.
	The UK's media regulatory system is one of the most robust in the world, aiming to strike the right balance between freedom of expression while ensuring media content is acceptable. Under this system, the various bodies which regulate the media have set out a range of controls in relation to discriminatory treatment and the portrayal of women.
	The role the media can play in presenting positive portrayals of women is widely recognised by Government, regulators and media organisations. As part of our consideration of these issues the Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group recently held a forum, organised with DCMS and chaired by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to discuss a range of concerns about the representation of women in the media.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will consider publishing an air quality risk assessment for the purposes of identifying the risks to the UK population of poor air quality and priority areas for action.

Richard Benyon: Under the ambient air quality directive (2008/50/EC) and the fourth daughter directive (2004/107/EC), in September each year the UK publishes a compliance assessment for the previous calendar year. This identifies those parts of the UK where further action is needed to improve air quality. It is available on the library section of the UK-Air website:
	http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/

Air Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of poor air quality on different socio-economic groups.

Richard Benyon: The Government have published reports analysing air quality and social deprivation, which are publicly available on the UK-Air website:
	http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/
	The most recent report, 'Air Quality and Social Deprivation in the UK: an environmental inequalities analysis' is from 2006. This highlights the complex relationship between the distribution of pollutant concentrations and areas of social deprivation, which depends on the pollutant in question and differs in the UK's various cities and regions.

Air Pollution: EU Law

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the minutes of each meeting her Department has had with the European Commission to discuss plans for meeting EU air quality limit values under the ambient air quality directive.

Richard Benyon: In September DEFRA submitted air quality plans to the European Commission setting out how the limit values for nitrogen dioxide are to be met in the shortest possible time. The Commission has up to nine months to assess these plans. DEFRA has had no bilateral meetings with the Commission to discuss them.

Air Pollution: EU Law

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has completed an equalities impact assessment in respect of its air quality plans for the achievement of EU air quality limit values for nitrogen dioxide.

Richard Benyon: The air quality plans that were submitted to the European Commission in September 2011 assessed the impact that relevant current and planned policies, and local air quality plans, were likely to have on concentrations of nitrogen dioxide.
	The need for an equalities impact assessment is considered when decisions about new policies are being made.

Biofuels: Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to measure (a) black carbon and (b) arsenic emissions from biomass generating plants.

Richard Benyon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 November 2011, Official Report, column 302W.

Carbon Emissions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Transport on the introduction of a national framework for low emission zones;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of achieving EU air quality limit values for nitrogen dioxide by 1 January 2015;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the potential contribution of a National Framework for Low Emission Zones to improving air quality.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA is working closely with the Department for Transport to investigate further measures to reduce pollution from heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and buses, including the feasibility of a national framework for low emission zones. A report on the feasibility of developing a certification scheme for technology retrofitted to HGVs to abate nitrogen oxides emissions was published in November and is available on the UK-Air website:
	http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/
	An assessment of technical measures needed to achieve compliance with EU air quality limit values was undertaken, which informed an impact assessment of a low emissions zone framework for inclusion in the time extension notification for compliance with the EU limit value for nitrogen dioxide. This impact assessment was published in June 2011 and is available on DEFRA's website.
	An assessment of the potential contribution of a national framework for low emission zones to improving air quality was included in our air quality plans for nitrogen dioxide. These plans were submitted to the European Commission in September. The air quality plans are available on the library section of the UK-Air website.

Coastal Areas: Access

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress her Department has made on a timetable for the creation of coastal access pathways in England; and when such a timetable will be published.

Richard Benyon: We will introduce the new right of coastal access on a 30 km stretch of the English coast between Portland and Lulworth Cove in Dorset in time for the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events, which begin in July 2012. We are now at the stage of considering the “appointed person's” report and recommendations into the objections that were made to Natural England's proposals.
	Natural England is also currently working on proposals to implement coastal access in a further five areas around the coast. When proposals for the coastal route have been prepared in each of the five areas, Natural England will start a period of local consultation.
	DEFRA is working closely with Natural England to look at how we move forward after Weymouth and the five other stretches. It is important that we have the opportunity to look at the lessons learnt from the current projects that are being implemented to make sure that coastal access is delivered as cost effectively as possible.

Debt Recovery

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of invoices from suppliers her Department paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010.

Richard Benyon: During July and August 2010, 8,819 out of 8,892 valid invoices were paid by the Department within 10 days of receipt which equates to 99.18%.

Departmental Buildings

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on refurbishing and redecorating ministerial offices in her Department since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: There has been no expenditure incurred refurbishing and redecorating ministerial offices in DEFRA since May 2010.

Scientific Advice

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on requiring her Department's (a) agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (b) contractors to have a written code of practice or protocol relating to the provision, conduct and quality assurance of scientific evidence and advice.

Richard Benyon: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) DEFRA's agencies and arm's length bodies are expected to adopt good practice in the provision, conduct and quality assurance of scientific evidence and advice. A number have adopted internationally recognised or certified schemes, such as those provided by ISO or the OECD standard for Good Laboratory Practice, and have written codes or procedures as required by those schemes, or follow national codes such as the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Others have their own codes or procedures in place, tailored to reflect their own circumstances, and consistent with guidelines issued by the Government chief scientific adviser on the use of scientific and engineering advice in policy-making where these guidelines are relevant. DEFRA's Science Advisory Council operates in line with the Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees (currently being updated) and the Principles for Scientific Advice to Government. The guidelines, code of practice and principles referred to above are all available on the BIS website.
	Given that DEFRA has different relationships and governance structures with its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and agencies—for example some NDPBs have a statutory purpose to provide evidence and advice—DEFRA has not prescribed any central policies regarding the provision, conduct and quality assurance of evidence and advice for its arm’s length bodies.
	(b) DEFRA is a co-signatory to the Joint Code of Practice for Research (JCoPR—available on the BBSRC website), which sets out principles for the quality of science and quality of the research process that research contractors sponsored by DEFRA must follow (if the JCoPR is not relevant to the proposed project, e.g. social research or economics, suppliers are required to describe what quality assurance measures they have in place). A number of DEFRA's arm’s length bodies are in the process of adopting the JCoPR.

Nitrogen Dioxide

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to ensure that nitrogen dioxide levels are within legal limits in all of the UK's zones and agglomerations by 1 January 2015.

Richard Benyon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column 186W.

Nitrogen Dioxide

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many days each of the UK's zones and agglomerations exceeded the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide in (a) 2010 and (b) between 1 January 2011 and 31 October 2011;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of days each of the UK's zones and agglomerations will exceed the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide in (a) each of the next three years and (b) 2020.

Richard Benyon: The legal limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have been set for both one-hour and annual-average time periods, but not for periods of a day. The one-hour limit value is exceeded if more than 18 hours exceed the limit at a monitoring site in a single year. A count of days does not directly demonstrate whether or not the one-hour or annual limit values have been exceeded in a year and does not form part of any compliance assessment for nitrogen dioxide legal limits.
	Compliance assessments for 2010 for both the annual and one-hour NO2 limit values are available on the library section of the UK-Air website:
	http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/
	Where applicable, projections of compliance with the one-hour and annual NO2 limit values for 2015 and 2020 were published as part of updated air quality plans submitted to the Commission in September 2011. These are also available on the UK-Air website.

Public Sector Employee Bids

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to put in place a right to provide for public sector workers to take over the running of services; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken to encourage the development of public service mutuals in its area of responsibility; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The “right to provide” was drawn to the attention of all staff when the Open Public Services White Paper was published. A process for consideration of employee-led mutual candidates is now being established.

World War II: Medals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) Women's Land Army and (b) Women's Timber Corps lapel badges were awarded in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010 and (iv) 2011 to date.

James Paice: As at 1 December 2011 a total of 35,509 badges had been issued to former members of the Women's Land Army (WLA) and Women's Timber Corps (WTC). No distinction is made between those who served in WLA and the WTC. The number of badges issued in each year was as follows:
	
		
			  Badges issued 
			 2008 32,961 
			 2009 1,838 
			 2010 476 
			 2011 (to date) 234

TREASURY

Capital Allowances: North-east England

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the extension of 100 per cent. capital allowances in the North East region.

David Gauke: The provision of 100% first year capital allowances for qualifying expenditure in Enterprise Zones in the North East Region is estimated to cost approximately £40 million over the next five years.

Credit Cards: Fees and Charges

John Thurso: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to tackle excessive surcharges following the Office of Fair Trading's recommendations on card payment charges.

Mark Hoban: The Government are currently considering the Office of Fair Trading's recommendations and will update the House in due course.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Simon Hart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending the fuel duty discount pilot scheme to rural areas of Wales.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 December 2011, Official Report, column 69W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith).

National Savings and Investments: Post Offices

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer over what period he expects National Savings and Investments to withdraw its products from the Post Office network.

Chloe Smith: The majority of NS&I's products are already managed by customers directly with NS&I. At the end of the final phase of NS&I's modernisation programme, in 2013, NS&I's range of savings and investments will only be available direct from NS&I, apart from Premium Bonds which NS&I intends to continue to offer through the Post Office.

Renewable Energy: North-east England

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) enhanced cap allowances and (b) public spending support to the Centres for Offshore Renewable Engineering at (i) Tees and (ii) Tyne.

Chloe Smith: The provision of 100% first year capital allowances for qualifying expenditure in the Tees Valley and North East Enterprise Zones is estimated to cost approximately £40 million over the next five years. Centres for Offshore Renewable Engineering (COREs) are the beginning of a strengthened partnership between central Government and Local Enterprise Partnerships, to build on UK strengths in offshore wind. There is no spending commitment directly attached to COREs.

Stamp Duties

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of houses sold for over £1 million on which stamp duty land tax was paid at the full rate in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: Information on residential property transactions priced at over £1 million for 2008, 2009 and 2010 can be found in National Statistics table T16.1 on the HMRC website
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/survey_of_prop/table16-1.pdf
	The corresponding figures for 2007 show a total of 1,613,000 residential property transactions in the UK, with 16,000 of those priced at over £1 million.
	HMRC holds no data on residential property sales where a land transaction return is not made.

Stamp Duties: Tax Evasion

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the level of tax evasion on stamp duty; and what steps he is taking to reduce the level of such stamp duty evasion.

Chloe Smith: Stamp duty (as opposed to stamp duty land tax) applies to transfers of stock and marketable securities via a stock transfer form.
	There is no liable person for stamp duty and no statutory compulsion to present a document for stamping. So it is not appropriate to refer to "evasion" in this context.
	The sanctions against leaving a document unstamped are that it cannot then be used as evidence in UK court proceedings (other than criminal proceedings) and that penalties and interest are charged for late stamping.

Taxation: Gambling

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress his Department has made in its plans to tax remote gambling companies by making the taxable location the point of sale to the customer.

Chloe Smith: On 18 July 2011, the Government announced their intention to review the taxation regime for remote gambling, looking at the case for taxing operators on the basis of customer location.
	The initial review closed on 30 November 2011. All responses received are now being analysed. No decisions have been taken on whether to proceed with reform.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many emergency readmissions there have been in each NHS primary care trust in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the emergency readmission rate within 28 days of discharge was for each acute trust in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Simon Burns: Information is not available in the precise form or for the periods requested. The available information will be collated and placed in the Library as soon as possible.

Community Nurses

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average case load for district nurses (a) in each primary care trust area and (b) nationally in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne Milton: No estimate has been made centrally. It is for local national health service organisations to commission district nursing services and to determine their case loads taking into account local needs and resources.

Management Consultants

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has paid to (a) management consultants and (b) private health companies since May 2010; and what services were paid for.

Simon Burns: The figures for expenditure on external management consultants for the Department of Health (this includes the core Department and Connecting for Health) for the last financial year 2010-11 are:
	From April 2010-11—£14.77 million. (Figures can only be provided for the full financial year).
	From April 2011-12 (The current financial year, to date)—£5.48 million.
	The figure for expenditure on private health companies providing services for national health service patients through the independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) since May 2010 is £282,179,000.
	A full breakdown of the information by cost, supplier and description for core Department of Health expenditure for 2010-11 entitled ‘Core Department of Health external consultancy expenditure for financial year 2010-11’ has been placed in the Library.
	Expenditure on management consultancies and private health companies since April 2010, and the value and supplier for each transaction (excluding core Department of Health expenditure for 2010-11) is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Connecting for Health (CfH) expenditure on management consultants for the financial year 2010-11 
			 Supplier name Requirement description 2010-11 total (£) 
			 DLA Piper UK LLP Legal Spend 4,281,795.33 
			 Milbank Tweed Hadley and McCloy LLP Legal Spend 402,929.16 
			 QI Consulting OGC SACS 136,727.75 
			 Concerto Consulting OGC SACS 103,776.00 
			 Eversheds LLP <£20,000 21,615.30 
			 NHS Business Services Authority <£20,000 14,875.79 
			 PA Consulting Services Ltd HR Strategy 8,042.77 
			 Bishops Beech Ltd ISO 20000 proj 4,422.86 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust <£20,000 750.00 
			 Samuel Phillips <£20,000 440.63 
			 Department For Work And Pensions <£20,000 254.09 
			 Birmingham City Council <£20,000 126.90 
			 Total — 4,975,756.58 
		
	
	
		
			 Core departmental expenditure on management consultants for the current financial year 2011-12 (up to the present day) 
			 Supplier name Requirement description FY 2011-12 actual spend to date (£) 
			 Allen and Overy Legal Advice for Care provision 9,457 
			 Baker Tilly Legal Advice for Care provision 19,035 
			 Capita Symonds Estates transition programme 41,561 
			 DLA Piper PICD-PIPP-FluLine-Legal Advice—National Fluline Service 97,531 
			 Duerden Professor Duerden 138 
			 McKinsey and Co NHS Transition Programme 200,300 
			 Norton Rose Vieregge Appointment of legal advisors on the sale of NHS Professionals 22,912 
			 Portico Technical advice to the CAF programme 68,591 
			 PWC Community Pharmacy Cost of Service Inquiry 46,050 
			 Total — 505,575 
		
	
	
		
			 CfH expenditure on management consultants for the current financial year 2011-12 (to October) 
			 Supplier name Requirement description 2011-12 total (£) 
			 DLA Piper UK LLP Legal Spend 5,296,798 
			 Milbank Tweed Hadley and Mccloy LLP Legal Spend 780,999 
			 QI Consulting <£20,000 Uncategorised 24,018 
			 NHS Business Services Authority <£20,000 Legal 16,793 
			 Bishops Beech Ltd ISO 20000 Project 3,281 
			 Total — 6,121,890 
		
	
	
		
			 Core departmental expenditure on private health companies, providing services for NHS patients through the independent sector treatment centres since May 2010 
			 Contract Description Value (£000) 
			 D01—London Various direct access diagnostics (most likely to be MRI) delivered from mobile units in London 34,706 
			 E01—Avon, Gloucester, Wiltshire Elective care, various specialties in Avon Gloucester, Wiltshire 51,147 
			 E05—Cumbria and Lancashire Elective care, various specialties. 50,320 
			 E06—Cheshire and Merseyside Elective care, various specialties 16,645 
			 E08—Greater Manchester CATS Assessment services and minor procedures in the Manchester area 36,313 
			 E09—Hampshire and Isle of Wight Elective care, various specialties 32,661 
			 E15—Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Elective care, various specialties 11,680 
			 E16—Renal Renal dialysis in the north of England 17,430 
			 P8N—PET CY North PET/CT scans in the North of England. These are scans for cancer and requested by oncologists 15,111 
			 P8S—PET CT South PET/CT scans in the South of England. These are scans for cancer and requested by oncologists 16,166 
			 All schemes All Phase 2 ISTC Schemes from May 2010 to October 2011 282,179

Departmental Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which public appointees to senior positions in (a) his Department, (b) its executive agencies, (c) official reviews and (d) commissions of enquiry have declared membership of the Conservative party in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Information about the membership of political parties of appointees to senior positions in the Department and its public bodies is neither held nor collected centrally.
	The Department complies with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This requires that departments ask appointees to public bodies for information which is already in the public domain, and stipulates that they should not seek personal or private information such as membership of political parties.

Diabetes

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people with diabetes in (a) the UK, (b) Kent and (c) Dartford constituency in each of the last five years.

Paul Burstow: The full data set to be able to answer this question accurately are not available.
	The following table shows the number of diabetes registrations in National Diabetes Audit (NDA) data for England and Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) diabetes registrations for England for the last five years.
	
		
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 National Diabetes Audit England total(1) 655,953 1,221,814 1,423,669 1,658,409 1,929,985 
			 Quality Outcomes Framework England total(2) 1,890,663 1,961,976 2,088,335 2,213,138 2,338,813 
			 (1 )The NDA contains people with diabetes (all types) of all ages, however it is not mandatory, and does not have 100% coverage or participation. (2) QOF data only contain patients aged 17 years and over with diabetes mellitus. 
		
	
	The following table shows the NDA data for each of the Kent primary care trusts (PCTs) for the last four years. Growth in numbers of registrations in NDA needs to be assessed in the context of the growth in coverage for the audit. QOF data are an aggregate return so do not contain the detail required to respond at this level.
	
		
			 PCT 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 26,669 22,526 21,433 18,570 
			 Medway PCT 13,038 12,321 1,935 2,538 
			 West Kent PCT 27,087 24,274 21,587 8,770 
			 Total 66,794 59,121 44,955 29,878 
			 Data are not held at a constituency level.

Doctors: Vacancies

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies for junior doctors there were in each month since May 2010.

Anne Milton: We do not hold this information centrally.

Eating Disorders

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with (a) women's groups and (b) men's groups on treatment and support available to (i) adults and (ii) children with eating disorders; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: We are committed to improving mental health among the whole population. That is why we are providing around £400 million over the next four years to expand psychological therapies, with an annual £8 million investment to expand access to psychological therapies to children and young people.
	Early intervention is essential for those with eating disorders and we have been clear that general practitioners are expected to use National Institute for Health and Clinical Evidence guidance when choosing the most appropriate treatments, from physical and psychological treatments to medicines. Access to high-quality mental health care, based on the best available evidence and delivered by staff with an appropriate range of skills and competencies, is critical to meeting the specific needs of this group of people.
	The Government Equalities Office have begun a campaign which aims to reduce the burdens that popular culture places on an individual's well-being and self-esteem.
	The Government have convened a group of experts to identify non-legislative solutions to tackling low levels of body confidence. This includes representatives from health care, fashion, beauty, media, advertising, and the voluntary sector.

Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to launch a revised public health responsibility deal.

Anne Milton: There are no plans to launch a revised Public Health Responsibility Deal. The networks continue to develop the next tranche of pledges that we expect will go much further and demand even greater commitment and action on the part of industry.

Health Services: Ex-servicemen

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms his Department has put in place to assess the level of access to health services by war veterans.

Simon Burns: The Department is currently working on a number of physical and mental health care improvement programmes for veterans, and their families. These include, veteran-specific mental health services coming out of the implementation of the recommendations of Dr Andrew Murrison's ‘Fighting Fit report’; and the development of enhanced rehabilitation and prosthetics services across England and the devolved Administrations in response to his latest report ‘A Better Deal for Military Amputees'. The Department has committed significant sums of money to this work: £7.2 million in respect of Fighting Fit, and £15 million for the prosthetic care improvements.
	It should also be noted that the Department has taken steps towards ensuring that more general practitioner (GPs) are made aware of the specific health care needs of service personnel. These include, the setup of armed forces networks in the 10 existing strategic health authority areas, through which national health service staff and forces representatives can plan the care of their local military and veterans' populations; and the launch of an e-learning package in conjunction with the Royal College of General Practitioners, to raise GPs awareness of the types of health care needs veterans with which veterans are likely to present.
	Through the improvement of veteran-specific services and awareness raising among health professionals, the Department hopes to ensure that veterans will get a much better deal from their health services.

Health Visitors

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to publish an annual report on the health visitor implementation plan, 2011-15;
	(2)  when he expects to publish his first quarterly progress report on the health visitor workforce.

Anne Milton: The Department will publish its first annual report on the “Health Visitor Implementation Plan—A Call To Action 2011-15” by the end of this calendar year.
	The first quarterly report on progress relating to the Government's commitment on health visiting, “A Call to Action Health Visitor Implementation Plan Summary Progress Report”, was published on the Department's website on 31 October 2011, and is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_130856
	A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Health Visitors: Manpower

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors have returned to work in the NHS in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: This information is not collected by the Department, however from January 2012, as part of the Health Visiting Minimum Data Set, the NHS Information Centre will be collecting the number of health visitors who return to practice.

Health Visitors: Training

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors were in training in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The following table shows the number of health visitors in training in each of the last five years:
	
		
			 Health visitor training commissions 2006-07 to 2010-11 
			  Actual commissions 
			 2006-07 391 
			 2007-08 269 
			 2008-09 433 
			 2009-10 514 
			 2010-11 545 
			 Source: Quarterly strategic health authority financial management returns

Health Visitors: Training

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for changes to the content of health visitor higher education programmes.

Anne Milton: In order to achieve the best outcomes in health visitor education for both staff and patients alike, the Department is working closely with education commissioners and the higher education sector to review the content of health visitor educational programmes.
	The purpose of this collaborative working is to ensure that curricula and practice are aligned with the service vision set out in ‘The Health Visitor Implementation Plan 2011-15, A Call to Action’. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Health: Salt

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to revise the targets for salt reduction contained in the public health responsibility deal.

Anne Milton: The Government have no plans currently to revise the Responsibility Deal salt targets; partners who have signed up to the salt reduction pledge have until 2012 to meet the targets.
	Salt reduction is a key priority of the Public Health Responsibility Deal. As part of its work programme for 2012-13, the High Level Steering Group of the Food Network will consider what further actions are necessary to ensure continued progress towards the public health goal to reduce people's average salt consumption to no more than 6 grams of salt/person/day for adults and less for children.

Herbal Medicine: EU Law

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions officials in his Department have had with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on enforcement of the EU Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products (Directive 2004/24/EC); when such discussions took place; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many companies have been investigated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for selling herbal medicinal products as food supplements in the last 12 months; when he expects each investigation to reach a conclusion; whether the product investigated will be removed from sale immediately if they are found to have breached the regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: There have been no discussions between Ministers or officials with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) specifically about the enforcement of Directive 2004/24/EC. It is possible that the subject has been discussed in the context of how the end of the section 12(2) exemption in the Medicines Act 1968 would impact on herbal practitioners but such discussions would have been incidental to the main issue of practitioner regulation. The classification of products as medicines is made on a case-by-case basis by the MHRA. The MHRA does not hold information on how many herbal medicines have been presented as food supplements. Action taken by the MHRA will depend on the nature of the breach of regulation and any danger to public health posed by the product; this can include requiring the product to be removed immediately from the market. The MHRA is currently considering how effective, proportionate enforcement action can best ensure that the intended benefits of the legislation for consumers and for companies compliant with the legislation are achieved.

HIV Infection

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he took to mark World AIDS day 2011.

Anne Milton: World AIDS day provides the opportunity for people to unite to show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. To mark World AIDS day I spoke at a reception held by the Terrence Higgins Trust and hosted by my noble Friend, Lord Fowler, on 29 November.
	The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister both recorded a video message for World AIDS day.

HIV Infection

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce HIV infection rates; and what steps he plans to take to enable people who are most at risk of contracting HIV to participate in a comprehensive testing and education regime.

Anne Milton: The Department continues to fund targeted programmes of work on prevention for the groups most at risk of HIV in the United Kingdom and these highlight the importance of HIV testing. Additionally, in February 2011, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence published its recommendations on increasing the offer of HIV testing to men who-have-sex-with-men and black African communities which we welcome.
	Increasing the offer and uptake of HIV testing in a variety of health care settings, both primary and secondary, is important to reduce undiagnosed HIV. We are considering the findings of the Time to Test report, which was published by the Health Protection Agency in September this year which assessed the feasibility and acceptability of routinely offering HIV testing in eight pilot projects that were funded by the Department. We are also funding a three year project by the Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health to produce an interactive tool to support general practitioners and primary care staff in offering HIV testing.

HIV Infection

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) young adults and (b) people were diagnosed with HIV in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The number of new HIV diagnoses reported in England in young adults, aged 15 to 24 and people of all ages, in each of the last five years, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Age group 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 15 to 24 years 742 733 700 633 631 
			 Total—all ages 6,936 6,735 6,665 6,082 6,108 
			 Note: Diagnoses are from reports received to end June 2011.

Injuries: Dogs

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children under 16 years were admitted to hospital because of injuries received from a dog in England and Wales in (a) 2011 and (b) 2010.

Simon Burns: In 2010-11, there were 1,481 finished admission episodes(1) (FAEs) for children under 16 in England with a cause code(2 )of bitten or struck by dog. In 2009-10, there were 1,382 FAEs for children under 16 in England with a cause code of bitten or struck by dog.
	The Department does not collect information on the devolved Administrations.
	Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been working closely with Government and non-government organisations to prepare a package of measures to encourage more responsible dog ownership and reduce dog attacks. This work is nearing completion and an announcement will be made by that Department shortly.
	(1) A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	(2) A supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. Only the first external cause code which is coded within the episode is counted in Hospital Episode Statistics. Cause code used: W54—Bitten or struck by dog.

Lee Communications and Public Affairs

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings Ministers in his Department had with (a) Kevin Lee and (b) representatives of Lee Communications Public Affairs Limited between July 2009 and May 2010; and what the (i) date, (ii) names of those attending and (iii) subject of each meeting was.

Simon Burns: Details of all ministerial meetings with external parties are published quarterly in arrears on the Department's website. Data from 1 January 2010 up to the end of March 2011 can be found at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/MinistersandDepartmentLeaders/Departmentdirectors/DH_110759
	No data are held prior to this date.

Mass Media

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on media monitoring since May 2010.

Simon Burns: The Department spend on media monitoring since May 2010 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Spend since May 2010 (1 ) (£) 
			 Press cuttings 164,797.28 
			 Media monitoring 125,544.16 
			 (1) Exclusive of VAT

Medical Treatments: Lasers

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the provision of specialist training for the use of class four laser treatment in the private therapy sector; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Following deregulation of providers of class 3B and class 4 lasers lights in 2010, the Department supported creation of an industry led, assurance scheme whose objectives include publication of a set of accepted essential standards and a model training programme for educators to use. Work to develop these standards is being co-ordinated by the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2011, Official Report, column 580W, on meningitis: vaccination, whether his Department has received the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's recommendation on meningococcal B vaccination.

Anne Milton: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is continuing to assess carefully the impact and cost effectiveness of a potential vaccination programme against meningococcal B bacteria. The conclusions of JCVI's assessment are not expected until early 2013 at the very earliest.

Mental Health Services

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2011, Official Report, columns 961-2W, on mental health services, when he expects the National Liaison and Diversion Programme to complete its mapping exercise of mental health service provision in England.

Paul Burstow: The National Liaison and Diversion Programme is expected to complete the mapping exercise by April 2012.

Mental Health Services: Ex-servicemen

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specialist mental health services are provided for armed forces veterans.

Simon Burns: At least one in four people experience a mental health problem at some point in their life and mental ill-health represents up to 23% of the total burden of ill health in the United Kingdom—the largest single cause of illness. The Government are committed to the health and welfare of people serving in the armed forces, both during and after their time in service. This is part of rebuilding the Military Covenant, which is the basis for government policy aimed at improving the support available for the armed forces community. While the majority of service personnel do not experience mental health problems, mental health services still have a key role to play in fulfilling this covenant.
	Shortly after coming into power, the current Government commissioned my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) to carry out a report into the mental health provision made for serving personnel and veterans. ‘Fighting Fit' was published in October 2010, and the Government immediately accepted all of its recommendations. The Department also announced a spending commitment of £7.2 million over the spending review period, to implement these recommendations. The Department is working closely with the Ministry of Defence, the national health service, Combat Stress and others to deliver the recommendations made by Dr Murrison in his report ‘Fighting Fit’. Excellent progress has been made against almost all of these, and the work will continue. Work includes, the launch of a 24-hour veterans' helpline; the launch of an online early intervention peer support wellbeing and counselling service; and a commissioning increase in specifically targeted mental health professionals within the NHS.

NHS: Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from which planned NHS building projects his Department has withdrawn support in the last 12 months.

Simon Burns: The Department monitors progress and approves business cases for major capital investment schemes (above a delegated approval limit of £35 million) taken forward by national health service trusts. None of these schemes have been stopped or cancelled in the last 12 months.

NHS: Crimes of Violence

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to prevent attacks on NHS staff.

Simon Burns: The Department has a zero tolerance approach to violence against national health service staff.
	NHS Protect leads work to deter and prevent violence and aggression against NHS staff in England.
	Employers have a duty to identify and address risks to their staff. NHS Protect offers policy and operational guidance and assistance on this to NHS bodies and provides training for locally based security specialists.
	Following enactment of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, NHS Protect manage the provision of training to staff in the use of new powers to remove from hospital premises those causing a nuisance or disturbance, in order to tackle lower level nuisance behaviour and stop it from escalating into violence.
	Conflict resolution training has been provided for frontline NHS staff in all sectors in the skills needed to recognise and defuse potentially violent situations before they become more serious. NHS Protect are reviewing the national training syllabus and standard.
	NHS Protect manage the provision of a lone worker alarm service for NHS staff who work alone. Over 40,000 NHS staff are using this service, which enables lone workers to signal covertly for help from emergency services if needed and which provides a system control centre able to listen to and record events in a way that is legally admissible in prosecution cases that arise from incidents.
	Where violent incidents do occur, NHS Protect is committed to ensuring that tough action, including appropriate sanctions, is taken against those who are violent and aggressive toward NHS staff. A new joint working agreement between NHS Protect, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service aims to ensure that criminal assaults are identified and do not go unpunished.

Nutrition: EU Law

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to implement European Commission Regulation (EC) No 41/2009 on the gluten content of food.

Anne Milton: The Foodstuffs Suitable for People Intolerant to Gluten (England) Regulations 2010, were laid before Parliament on 20 September 2010 and come into force on 1 January 2012.

Orphan Drugs

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to ensure that the criteria used by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services for the selection of medicines for assessment complement one another to avoid duplication or omission;
	(2)  what his policy is on broadening the definition of orphan medicines that the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services will accept into its assessment process;
	(3)  if he will extend the capacity of the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services to conduct assessments of orphan medicines.

Simon Burns: The majority of new drugs and significant licence extensions are considered through the topic selection process for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) technology appraisal programme, against published criteria. In certain cases NICE will consider sending high cost low volume drugs for the treatment of rare conditions to the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services (AGNSS) for consideration for possible inclusion in the arrangements for national specialised commissioning. NICE and the secretariat to AGNSS work very closely together.
	The orphan drug legislation is a European Commission Regulation (No. 141/2000) and was introduced to include a specific incentive which provides for a period of market exclusivity for a company which develops an orphan drug.
	As an independent body NICE is responsible for developing its technology appraisal methodology. NICE has appraised a number of designated orphan medicines where they have met the published criteria for referral.
	Funding to enable AGNSS to consider high cost low volume drugs is met from within its running costs.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Retail Trade

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will assess the effects of the one-bag rule for hand luggage operated by airlines on the level of airport retail sales; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen) on 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 209W.

Airports: Retail Trade

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information her Department holds on the number of people employed in the airport retail sector at each UK airport.

Theresa Villiers: The Department does not hold any such information.

Electric Vehicles: Bicycles

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the number of accidents involving scooter-style electric bicycles, in each of the last three years.

Michael Penning: Electrically assisted bicycles are not identified as a separate element in accident statistics.

Electric Vehicles: Bicycles

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has plans to review the rules regulating the licensing and use of scooter-style electric bicycles.

Michael Penning: A public consultation on electric cycle legislation (The Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations SI 1168/1983) was completed in March 2010. The legislation was also considered under the Road Transport theme of the Red Tape Challenge initiative. The Department will shortly be publishing a summary of consultation responses and a statement on next steps.
	The Department is also negotiating a new EU regulation on two, three and light four wheel vehicles, including certain types of electric cycles. The outcome of these discussions are expected to conclude during the summer 2012. Decisions reached at EU level may affect how we regulate certain electric cycles in GB.

Northern Rail

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to improve Northern Rail connectivity between Liverpool and Newcastle; and what recent progress she has made on the Northern Hub.

Theresa Villiers: In the recent autumn statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the electrification of the north Trans-Pennine route between Manchester and York.
	We have previously announced that the line between Liverpool and Manchester via the Chat Moss route would be electrified and have given the go-ahead for the Ordsall Chord scheme in Manchester.
	These investments, which are vital to the delivery of the Northern Hub strategy, will provide the opportunity for train operators to provide a direct fast service between Liverpool and Newcastle up to 45 minutes quicker than today.

Railway Stations: Manpower

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many station staff on average were employed at railway stations in category (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D and (e) E in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

Theresa Villiers: The Department does not hold this information.

Rescue Services

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the invitation to tender for search and rescue helicopters includes a requirement that helicopters be equipped with night vision goggles.

Michael Penning: The UK Search and Rescue Helicopters project has an output based requirement including the requirement to operate aircraft safely at low level at night and in low light conditions in both the maritime and overland environments. The contractor must also enable the aircrew (pilots and rear-crew) to conduct aided visual searches. It is for the contractor to develop solutions to meet these requirements. However, it is highly unlikely that the contractor could meet these requirements without the use of night vision aids. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) already permits the use of night vision devices in civilian registered aircraft subject to the demonstration of adequate training processes and safe operating procedures.

Severn River Crossing

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been raised by Severn River Crossing in each of the last five years; how much has been paid to Severn River Crossing plc in each of the last five years; and how much remains to be paid to Severn River Crossing plc in the remainder of the current concession period.

Michael Penning: Severn River Crossing plc’s (SRC) accounts are publicly available and are placed in the House Library. SRC's toll revenues (net of VAT) for the past five years are:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2006 72.0 
			 2007 76.1 
			 2008 77.6 
			 2009 77.4 
			 2010 76.0 
		
	
	SRC was paid the following amounts for work which the concessionaire is not liable for under the terms of the agreement. This relates primarily to mitigation works for the corrosion of the main suspension cables on the original Severn Bridge.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2006-07 3.8 
			 2007-08 4.2 
			 2008-09 6.5 
			 2009-10 3.5 
			 2010-11 3.2 
		
	
	As of 30 June 2011, the cumulative amount collected from the tolls during the concession period was £752.1 million (in July 1989 prices). The concession period ends when SRC has archived cumulative revenue of £995.83 million (in July 1989 prices, gross of operating costs). The remaining amount to be collected is £243.7 million in July 1989 prices, or about £502 million in current prices.

Transport: Exhaust Emissions

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effect on UK carbon emissions of the level of investment in (a) rail and (b) road set out in the autumn statement.

Norman Baker: All transport investments over £100,000 included in the autumn statement are subject to assessment, in line with the Department's guidance.
	The Transport Business Case, which sets out the Department's approach to producing business cases to inform ministerial decisions, is available here:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/howthedftworks/transportbusinesscase/
	Guidance on the detailed appraisal of transport projects in respect of their greenhouse gas emissions is also published in the Department's appraisal guidance (“webTAG”). The latest guidance is published at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/webtag/documents/expert/unit3.3.5.php
	The Government's Carbon Plan was published on 1 December and available here:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/carbon_plan/carbon_plan.aspx
	The Carbon Plan sets out how we will deliver on our Climate Change Act 2050 target and intermediate carbon budgets. Transport will make a major contribution to reducing UK GHG emissions, with the ultimate aim of substantially decarbonising land transport by 2050.
	The autumn statement announced several policies which will help to reduce transport's GHG emissions, including:
	Providing a further £50 million to be used by local transport authorities for transport improvement schemes many of which will have focal environmental benefits.
	Bringing forward the electrification of the North Trans-Pennine route from Manchester to York via Leeds, which will deliver significant carbon savings as well as reliability and journey time benefits.
	Supporting low-carbon rail freight by making it easier to get new rail freight terminals built, and providing an additional £55 million to improve rail connectivity to Felixstowe Port.
	Launching a third round of the Green Bus Fund, under which up to a further £25 million is being made available for the purchase of low carbon emission buses.
	Announcing a new £8 million green truck fund to pump prime investment in low emission HGVs and their supporting infrastructure.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Civil Proceedings

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases.

Andrew Mitchell: In the last five years the Department for International Development (DFID) has had no legal proceedings brought against it by organisations receiving DFID funding.

Departmental Responsibilities

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure social value is included when services are commissioned by (a) his Department and (b) its public bodies; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development is taking a number of steps to ensure social value is included when services are commissioned:
	An action plan for small and medium-sized enterprises has been developed;
	Our support for the Greening Government sustainable procurement targets;
	Business cases for the procurement of services include an assessment of social impact;
	All tenders state DFID's wish to work with suppliers who demonstrate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by taking account of economic, social and environmental factors that are in compliance with International Labour Organisation (ILO) core standards on labour and social matters.

Ethiopia: Politics and Government

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of aid on standards of governance in Ethiopia.

Andrew Mitchell: Ethiopia has a capable government that is demonstrably committed to addressing poverty. It has an impressive record of pro-poor spending and sound financial management.
	Development assistance to Ethiopia has had a notably positive impact on standards of governance in Ethiopia. For instance, in the four years to 2010, support from international partners has helped deliver a threefold increase in tax revenues; dramatic increases in the efficiency of regional and federal courts and a 50% reduction in delivery times for a range of basic services. Development assistance has also trained and equipped the Ombudsman, Anti-Corruption Commission, Houses of Parliament, Office of the Auditor General and other institutions that play an increasingly important role in ensuring the Government remain accountable to their citizens.

EU Aid: Family Planning

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to encourage his EU counterparts to increase aid for family planning above 0.4 per cent. of the total EU aid budget.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government are working closely with member states and the European Commission to increase EU support for family planning. We know that 215 million women in the developing world, who would like to delay or avoid a pregnancy, do not have access to modern family planning methods.
	In November 2010, the EU pledged €23 million to the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA's) Global Programme for Reproductive Health Commodity Security (GPRHCS).
	Last week, the coalition Government announced additional support for contraceptive supplies to this programme, to help prevent 2 million unintended pregnancies and avert nearly 220,000 unsafe abortions.

Tristan da Cunha

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to visit Tristan da Cunha.

Andrew Mitchell: No.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals attached to UK military operations in Afghanistan are employed through private contractors; what proportion of UK military staff in Afghanistan this represents; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence employs around 5,200 individuals in Afghanistan through private contractors, with around a further 1,000 directly-employed local people. These work directly and indirectly in support of operations but none is employed in a combat role. UK force levels in Afghanistan are currently 9,500. Contractors and locally employed civilians play an important and valued role in the operation, undertaking roles that are more economically or appropriately undertaken by contracted personnel. We keep under review the roles they play and the scale of contracted effort in the light of the evolving operation.

Armed Forces: Education

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average expenditure per recruit on academic education and non-military related training is for recruits at (a) the Army Foundation College Harrogate and (b) the Army Technical Foundation College Winchester.

Nick Harvey: The average amount spent on academic education and non-military training at the Army Foundation College Harrogate, based on the last completed course (September 2010 to August 2011), was £3,650 per successful recruit.
	Comparable figures for the Army Technical Foundation College Winchester are not held in the format requested but the total average expenditure for all training provided at this college, including military training, was £5,650 per successful recruit over the same period.

Armed Forces: Education

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of recruits enlisting in the Armed Forces aged 18 years or younger attended the Army Technical Foundation College Winchester in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Harvey: The Army Technical Foundation College Winchester was established in September 2010 to deliver phase 1 training to junior soldiers aspiring to join the Technical Corps in the Army.
	Between the period 1 September 2010 to 30 September 2011 a total of 3,745 under-18s commenced phase 1 training with the Army, of which 950 (25.4%) attended the Army Technical Foundation College Winchester.

Armed Forces: Education

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of staff at (a) the Army Foundation College Harrogate and (b) the Army Technical Foundation College Westminster have Qualified Teacher Status or Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills Status.

Nick Harvey: There are 379 military and civilian staff employed at the Army Foundation College Harrogate involved in the delivery of training to junior soldiers. 42 civilian staff provide vocational education in functional skills for mathematics, English and IT. All 42 have qualified teacher status. There are also nine military education and training Service officers who are fully qualified teachers.
	1 assume the hon. Member is referring to the Army Technical Foundation College Winchester, where there are 150 military and civilian staff involved in the delivery of training to junior soldiers. There are four civilian teachers providing the academic foundation required for recruits to succeed at their chosen trades in phase 2 training, all of whom either hold the qualified teacher learning and skills status or are working towards it. There are also three military education and training Service officers who are fully qualified teachers.

Armed Forces: Germany

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 May 2011, Official Report, columns 819-20W, on Armed Forces: Germany, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with local authorities on the basing and estates issues arising from the rebasing from Germany; and whether any local authorities have requested additional funding as a consequence of such rebasing.

Nick Harvey: Preliminary discussions have taken place with a number of local authorities affected by the rebasing from Germany. It is too early at this time to comment on specific issues.
	As of 6 December 2011, the Ministry of Defence was not aware of any local authorities requesting additional funding.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel and their families are waiting for married quarters accommodation in the greater Portsmouth area.

Andrew Robathan: There are no service personnel families waiting for service family accommodation in the greater Portsmouth area.
	However, as part of the normal cyclic housing accommodation, 16 families have applied for accommodation in the Portsmouth area and these families will be allocated a home within the standard 15 days.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many married quarters in (a) Fareham, (b) Gosport and (c) Portsmouth were handed back to Annington Homes in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: The number of service family accommodation properties in Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth handed back to Annington Homes Ltd are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Fareham Gosport Portsmouth 
			 2007 0 0 0 
			 2008 0 0 1 
			 2009 0 0 0 
			 2010 0 0 0 
			 2011 0 85 0

Defence

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of (a) the defence estate and (b) military industry in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) keeps its estate under constant review to meet present and planned future requirements. Surplus assets are disposed of as quickly as possible in accordance with Treasury guidelines. The outcome of the Department's basing review, announced by the previous Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) on 18 July 2011, Official Report , columns 643-45, confirmed our intent to continue to drive efficiencies across the whole of the estate.
	Scottish industries, like those across the UK, play a vital role in ensuring our armed forces are equipped with the capabilities they require at reasonable cost to the UK taxpayer.

Departmental Civil Proceedings

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases.

Andrew Robathan: There have been no occasions since 2007 when the Ministry of Defence (MOD) was involved in legal proceedings with an organisation that received funding from the MOD.

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by (i) his Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: Communicators are employed across defence and the armed forces. They have an important task in explaining to the public, the media, our own people and other audiences—at the local regional, national and international levels—the role of defence, defence activities, capabilities and operations. The main effort for defence communicators at present is explaining our mission in Afghanistan.
	The latest figures for the numbers involved in communications roles as at 31 March 2011 are shown in the following table, and include all posts for which over 50% of the post's core duties are communications:
	
		
			  MOD/armed forces Trading funds (1) Non-departmental public bodies 
			 Press Officers 108 6 0 
			 Internal Communications Officers 39 4 0 
			 External Communications Officers 334 20 2 
			 Communications Strategy Officers 62 5 1 
			 Other 106 4 0 
			 (1) As at 31 March 2011. Includes 27 full time posts in the Met Office which has since transferred to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. 
		
	
	These figures include both military and civilian posts worldwide. They represent a reduction of over 60 communications posts compared with 31 March 2010. Further savings have been made across the communications area during the course of the current financial year and more substantial reductions are planned for future years.

Procurement

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of contracts awarded through the framework agreement technical support process have been internally audited in the last 12 months.

Peter Luff: holding answer 23 November 2011
	A Defence Internal Audit report published in November 2011 reviewed the Framework Agreement for Technical Support (FATS) for the period from April 2009 to March 2011. Of 2,580 tasks placed through FATS during this period, a sample of 42 (1.5%) was considered.

Departmental Property

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's properties are occupied in (a) Portsmouth, (b) Fareham and (c) Gosport.

Andrew Robathan: The number of properties occupied in Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport as of 1 November 2011 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Gosport 940 
			 Fareham 401 
			 Portsmouth area 1,431

Ex-servicemen: Employment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effect of service in the armed forces on (a) employability and (b) employment retention of veterans.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 29 November 2011
	Approximately 95% of service leavers succeed in gaining employment within six months of discharge. This is clear evidence that employers value the unique skills, experiences and sense of reliability and discipline which military life has instilled into service leavers.

HMS Protector

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total monetary cost was of HMS Protector from acquisition to operational readiness.

Peter Luff: I am pleased to confirm that as scheduled HMS Protector left Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth, to commence her first Antarctic deployment, on 28 November 2011.
	The contract for the lease of HMS Protector, which commenced in March of this year and is worth £26 million over three years, includes the acquisition of the vessel and full contractor support. The Ministry of Defence spent a further £3.7 million converting HMS Protector for military use. It is not possible to separately identify other operating costs during her conversion period, such as the fuel used to conduct her sea trials or her crew training.

Joint Exercises: Costs

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the UK's participation in Exercise Bersama Lima.

Nick Harvey: The UK played an important and substantial part in Exercise Bersama Lima, a Five Power Defence Arrangements joint exercise held in Singapore and Malaysia from 17 October to 4 November 2011. Four RAF Typhoons, one RAF VC-10, two contracted DA-20 aircraft and approximately 150 UK personnel participated in the Exercise. The total cost is estimated at £3.13 million, although this is subject to change as the recovery of RAF aircraft and personnel is not yet complete. This figure does not include the costs of manpower or the separately funded flying hours for the RAF aircraft.
	Membership of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, which recently commemorated its fortieth anniversary, remains the focus of the Ministry of Defence's engagement in south east Asia. This demonstrates the UK's continuing commitment to security in south east Asia and the wider region, which is an increasingly important part of the world, and provides regular and beneficial opportunities for joint exercises with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. The exercise also provided an opportunity to showcase the Typhoon export campaign in the region.

Military Bases: Planning Permission

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of the sites owned by his Department and earmarked for housing development as indicated in the written ministerial statement of 21 November 2011 on housing reform have existing planning permission. [R]

Andrew Robathan: As part of the Government's overall housing plan, the Ministry of Defence published its Interim Land and Property Disposal Strategy on 5 October 2011, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, and at the following web address:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DIO/Our Publications/CorporateInformation/DefenceInfrastructure InterimLandAndPropertyDisposalStrategy.htm
	The document contains an indicative disposal programme and, where appropriate, the current planning status on those sites.

Military Provost Guard Service

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the strength of the Military Provost Guard Service in relation to its responsibilities.

Andrew Robathan: The current strength of the Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) is around 2,550, against a current requirement for 3,214. Recruitment action is being taken to reduce the shortfall. Guarding requirements are kept under constant review and capability gaps are covered, where necessary, by regular service personnel.

RAF St Athan: Airlines

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has considered the merits of allowing the use of RAF St Athan by private airlines; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: An arrangement has existed since 2004 whereby parts of St Athan are used for maintenance and repair of civilian aircraft. This has been promoted by the Welsh Government.

JUSTICE

Alternatives to Prison

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan) of 20 June 2011, Official Report, column 112W, on young offenders: alternatives to prison, if he will commission an outcomes evaluation of the Intensive Alternative to Custody pilots.

Crispin Blunt: The MOJ is currently looking at the feasibility of conducting an outcome evaluation of the IAC pilots which would compare reoffending rates for IAC offenders with reoffending rates for similar offenders receiving custodial sentences of less than 12 months. Due to the small number of offenders, there is no intention to disaggregate data for young adults from the other adults that took part in the pilots.
	In July 2011, the MOJ published a short report with the main findings from a range of research exploring the learning from the Intensive Alternatives to Custody (IAC) pilot schemes:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/moj/intensive-alternatives-custody.htm
	The process evaluations covering the seven IAC pilot sites are currently being concluded and will be published in due course.

Children: Abduction

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to bring forward proposals to change the offence of a parent taking and keeping a child abroad for over 30 days without permission of the other parent from a civil to a criminal offence.

Jonathan Djanogly: There are no such plans. The wrongful retention of a child away from the United Kingdom is already a criminal offence under the Child Abduction Act 1984. Where a residence order under the Children Act 1989 is in force with respect to a child, that child cannot be removed from the UK without either the written consent of every person with parental responsibility for the child or the leave of the court. However, the person in whose favour the residence order for a child was made may remove the child from the UK for a period of less than one month.
	Where a person is accused or convicted of an offence of wrongfully retaining a child abroad, it may be possible for the UK to seek their extradition from the country where they are living, although this will not secure the return of the child.
	However, where wrongful removal or wrongful retention of the child abroad is in a country which is a contracting state to the 1980 Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction, the left-behind parent can apply under the convention for the return of the child. This is a summary procedure designed to seek the prompt return of the child to their country of habitual residence. In non-convention countries the Foreign and Commonwealth Office may be able to provide consular assistance.

Departmental Audit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criteria (a) his Department and (b) its public bodies use when deciding whether and when to hold an internal audit; and if he will make a statement.

Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Internal Audit and Assurance annual audit programme covering (a) MOJ core and (b) the agencies and other arm’s length bodies (ALBs) is based on an assessment of audit need which includes those systems which underpin the key risks to the Ministry as well as systems which, although not linked to the key risks could expose the Ministry to reputational risks. The decision on the frequency of audit is based on the level of risk attached to a system, an analysis of previous audit results and the extent and results of any other independent review activity taking place. The final programme of audits is agreed with senior management and the Audit Committee, which is comprised of three non-executive directors (one of whom is the Chair) and an independent member.

Parliamentary Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Kenneth Clarke: The proportion of written questions asked of my Department for answer on a named day that received answers within five working days is as follows:
	June 2011: 93.1%
	July 2011: 98.4%
	August 2011: No relevant questions were tabled
	September 2011: 95.3%
	October 2011: 98.3%
	November 2011: 95.3%.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments’ performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Prisoners’ Release: Sexual Offences

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many sex offenders were released after being found guilty but were released due to time served on remand.

Crispin Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty of sexual offences at all courts in England and Wales from 2006 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. Data are not held centrally on how many of these defendants had already served their sentence on remand.
	Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring 2012.
	
		
			 Number of defendants found guilty of sexual offences and sentenced to immediate custody, at all courts, England and Wales, 2006 to 2010 (1,2) 
			  2006 2007 2008 (3) 2009 2010 
			 Offence type Found guilty Immediate custody Found guilty Immediate custody Found guilty Immediate custody Found guilty Immediate custody Found guilty Immediate custody 
			 Sexual offences 4,890 2,806 5,059 2,807 5,116 3,000 5,107 2,987 5,784 3,287 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Postal Services

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances there have been where prisoners have received compensation in relation to cases concerning Rule 39 items of post being interfered with by prison staff; and what the total amount paid was.

Crispin Blunt: Prison Rule 39 provides the authority for prison governors to stop and open written correspondence which is subject to legal privilege. This is only done where there is reasonable cause to believe it contains an illegal item which it is believed could endanger prison security, or the safety of others, or which is illegal. If a prisoner feels that their correspondence has been opened improperly, they may seek compensation through internal complaints procedures, correspondence, civil litigation and through the parliamentary ombudsman and the prisons and probation ombudsman. To provide the information requested would require collection of data from each prison and across NOMS headquarters. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Reoffenders

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders have been convicted of offences whilst subject to a community order in each of the last five years; and how many such offences were of a (a) violent and (b) sexual nature.

Crispin Blunt: Table 1 shows the proven reoffending rates for adults (aged 18 or over) commencing a community order who committed a proven reoffence within a year for the last five years for which figures are available. Table 2 shows for the last five years for which figures are available how many of these reoffences were violent or sexual.
	
		
			 Table 1: Reoffending rates of adult offenders who had commenced a community order, 2005 - 09 
			  Reoffending rates 
			 2005 37.7 
			 2006 36.5 
			 2007 36.6 
			 2008 36.7 
			 2009 35.6 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of reoffences that were violent or sexual, 2005-09 
			  Number 
			 2005  
			 Sexual 174 
			 Sex (child) 50 
			 Violence non-serious 7,078 
			 Violence serious 222 
			   
			 2006  
			 Sexual 390 
			 Sex (child) 96 
			 Violence non-serious 15,653 
			 Violence serious 508 
			   
			 2007  
			 Sexual 473 
			 Sex (child) 139 
			 Violence non-serious 16,898 
			 Violence serious 529 
			   
			 2008  
			 Sexual 439 
			 Sex (child) 182 
			 Violence non-serious 17,011 
			 Violence serious 557 
			   
			 2009  
			 Sexual 518 
			 Sex (child) 172 
			 Violence non-serious 16,879 
			 Violence serious 564 
		
	
	Proven reoffending is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning either during the follow-up period or during a further six months allowed for cases to be proven. The sharp increase in numbers between 2005 and 2006 reflects the fact that these orders were introduced for offences committed after 4 April 2005.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: International Co-operation

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to encourage EU and African groups at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to (a) consider the links between population growth, carbon emissions and adaptation problems and (b) invest climate funds in family planning and women's education and empowerment programmes.

Gregory Barker: The UK and EU are open to discussing the linkages between mitigation, adaptation, family planning and women's education and climate finance under the UNFCCC framework.
	Responding to the unmet need for family planning and improving maternal health are major development priorities for the coalition Government. The UK is already investing heavily in family planning and women's education and empowerment programmes from Official Development Assistance outside our International Climate Fund.
	The UK has committed to prevent more than five million unintended pregnancies by enabling at least 10 million more women in developing countries to use modern methods of family planning by 2015, The UK will work to get more girls in developing countries into the classroom, making sure that at least half of the nine million primary school children we will get into school over the next four years are female.

Departmental Audit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria (a) his Department and (b) its public bodies use when deciding whether and when to hold an internal audit; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Internal Audit in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) provide the internal audit function to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). DECC does not have any executive agencies.
	Internal audits are undertaken in DECC as part of agreed annual audit plans which cover the duration of each financial year. The plans include a number of internal audits which form a core package of control and compliance work. This is necessary to provide adequate coverage to enable Internal Audit to provide assurance to the Accounting Officers at year end about the effectiveness of the internal control environment and to support the preparation of Governance Statements.
	Internal Audit also identifies a programme of risk based work. This part of the audit plans is developed over the course of the year, dependent on the Department's priorities, the evolution of the risk environment and the emergence of entirely new risks. The audit plans list risk-based reviews to ensure that current risk areas, as identified through discussion with senior management and a review of the Department's high level risk registers, are addressed. The audit plans also contain a flexible allowance for timely audit response to changes in the risk profile and developments in DECC.
	The audit plans are subject to approval by the DECC Audit and Risk Committees.
	Internal Audit holds discussions with Directors-General and Directors throughout the year and updates the audit plans where necessary. The Audit and Risk Committees are provided with proposed revisions to the annual plans as appropriate.
	The timing of the internal audit reviews carried out by Internal Audit is determined by a number of factors, including: discussions with senior management and members of the Audit and Risk Committees; discussion with the National Audit Office to align with their programmes of work; and timing based on previous year's plans.

Departmental Civil Proceedings

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases.

Gregory Barker: The Department does not maintain a central record of legal proceedings brought against it, and it would not be possible to compile a historical record without incurring disproportionate cost. In researching the answer to your question, my Department has not identified any case where an organisation funded by the Department has brought legal proceedings against it.

Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on (a) the recovery of legal costs from failed applicants for judicial review and (b) enforcement of any such recovery; and whether any exceptions apply.

Gregory Barker: The presumption is that the Department will seek to recover its costs, except where that would not be appropriate, such as where costs are unlikely to be recoverable. Enforcement action would also be taken where appropriate.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what risk registers are held by the public bodies for which his Department is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: All of DECC's Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies hold risk registers. Each of the bodies has set out their approach to risk management in the Statement on Internal Control in their respective Annual Report and Accounts.
	DECC's Advisory Non-Departmental Bodies do not hold their own risk registers. Their function is to provide independent scrutiny and advice to Government. This scrutiny includes seeking assurance that DECC's programmes falling within their remit, are underpinned by appropriate risk management.

Parliamentary Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of questions for ordinary written answer received a substantive response within (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30 and (d) more than 30 sitting days in the 2010-12 session to date.

Gregory Barker: During the period 18 May 2010 to 30 November 2011 a total of 2,844 ordinary written questions were tabled to the Department.
	Total answered: 2,821.
	Unanswered questions: 23.
	Questions answered within five sitting days: 2,387 (84%).
	Answered over five sitting days: 434 (15%); of these 57 (13%) were answered over 10 days but under 20 sitting days.
	No questions were answered beyond 20, 30 or more sitting days.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide this information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary Session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Electricity

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, what steps he has taken to enforce the continuity and quality of electricity supply.

Charles Hendry: Action can be taken under regulation 34 of the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (ESQCR) to enforce continuity and quality of electricity supply. Electricity transmission and distribution companies have a statutory duty to report certain interruptions to supply under regulation 32 of the ESQCR, as follows:
	Interruptions of 20 MW or more for three minutes or longer.
	Interruptions of 5 MW or more for one hour or longer.
	Interruptions of 5,000 consumers or more for one hour or longer.
	Inspectors appointed under section 30 of the Electricity Act 1989 have powers to test, investigate or examine equipment to ascertain whether a breach of these regulations may have occurred.

Electricity Generation

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of energy lost through the transmission network in the latest period for which figures are available.

Charles Hendry: DECC estimates that approximately 1.6% of the electricity put on to the transmission network was lost in 2010, which amounts to 6.0 terawatt hours (TWh). Losses for the distribution network in 2010 account for 6.2% (21 TWh) of electricity available for distribution. These estimates are derived from data set out in The Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2011, which notes that UK transmission losses in 2010 were approximately 22% of total UK losses of 27 TWh. This publication is available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/dukes/dukes.aspx
	Transmission losses have a cost of approximately £225 million per annum, which is recovered from generators and suppliers.
	National Grid, as the system operator of the transmission system, and the distribution network operators are incentivised to minimise transmission and distribution losses respectively through reward or penalty payments based on performance against targets set by Ofgem, in its role as independent energy regulator.

Energy: Housing

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many houses in England he estimates meet an energy efficiency rating of (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E, (f) F and (g) G.

Andrew Stunell: I have been asked to reply.
	Energy efficiency ratings are not available for all homes in England. Information contained in the total number of certificates relating to homes in England that had been lodged on the Register of Energy Performance Certificates, up to and including 24 November 2011, it is estimated that the number of houses in England that achieve energy performance ratings of A, B, C, D, E, F and G is as follows:
	
		
			 Energy Performance Rating Band Number of EPCs 
			 A 1,505 
			 B 204,798 
			 C 925,671 
			 D 1,546,241 
			 E 923,229 
			 F 280,043 
			 G 79,077 
			 Total 3,960,564 
		
	
	The estimated total of 15.97 million houses in England is taken from English Housing Survey data from 2009, and published in July 2011. The number of certificates relates to the number of Energy Performance Certificates lodged on the Certificate Register for houses in England as opposed to other types of dwelling (e.g. flat or maisonette), up to and including 24 November 2011.

Green Deal Scheme

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish his proposals for the allocation of funding for early uptake of the Green Deal in its initial phase in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

Gregory Barker: The Government announced £200 million of new funding to provide a time limited introductory offer to boost early take up of the Green Deal.
	The Department will develop options for how best to use these funds over the winter, and will provide further details on our proposals next year.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  with reference to the National Infrastructure Plan, what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues in (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Department for Communities and Local Government on the potential benefits to communities of new nuclear build;
	(2)  if he will set up a cross-departmental task group including (a) his Department, (b) HM Treasury, (b) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (d) the Welsh Government to discuss the provision of community benefits of new nuclear build;
	(3)  how he plans to engage with (a) developers and (b) local authorities on the potential benefits to communities of new nuclear build.

Charles Hendry: The National Infrastructure Plan identifies community benefit as an area where action by Government might help meet reasonable community aspirations in areas where new nuclear development is proposed without adding excessive costs to investment. This followed discussions with HM Treasury and the Department for Communities and Local Government. In taking this issue forward, the Department will continue to engage with interested Government Departments and other bodies and with developers and local authorities to establish how this can be achieved.

Scottish Government

Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when officials of his Department last met officials of the Scottish Government; and what was discussed.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Department holds frequent meetings with officials from the Scottish Government to discuss a range of issues. The last meeting was held on 29 November where the Electricity Market Reform proposals were discussed.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his answer of 24 November 2011, official report, column 474, on renewable energy: feed-in tariff, what the average payment to households who had installed solar PV under the feed-in tariff scheme was between April 2010 and October 2011.

Gregory Barker: For the 18,073 domestic (<4kW) installations in the 2010-11 period Ofgem estimate that total generation payments of £5,919,525.48 and export payments of £209,752.80 were made. These figures are based on the total number of installations registered over the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 only, as tariff information is supplied annually.
	Ofgem does not (and is not required to) collect data on individual payments under the feed-in tariffs scheme.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what changes he is considering to support provided to pensioners through the Warm Home Discount scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Help for pensioners is a key part of the Warm Home Discount scheme. This winter more than 600,000 of the poorest pensioners will receive a Core Group discount of £120 on their electricity bills.
	As set out in the Disclosure of State Pension Credit Information (Warm Home Discount) Regulations 2011 and the Warm Home Discount Regulations 2011 respectively, eligibility for the Core Group discount and the amount of rebate payable are shown in the following table for all four years of the scheme.
	
		
			  Eligibility for the Core Group discount Amount of rebate (£) 
			 2011-12 In receipt of pension credit guarantee credit only 120 
			 2012-13 In receipt of pension credit guarantee credit only, or aged 80 and over and in receipt of both pension credit guarantee/savings credit 130 
			 2013-14 In receipt of pension credit guarantee credit only, or aged 75 and over and in receipt of both pension credit guarantee/savings credit 135 
			 2014-15 All in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit 140 
		
	
	Additionally, to receive the discount the pension credit recipient or their partner must be the named bill payer on their electricity account with one of the six major energy suppliers.
	Other low income pensioners may also be able to benefit from the same discounts as listed above on electricity accounts through the support offered by energy suppliers under the Broader Group element of the Warm Home Discount scheme. Pensioners are also among those who will be assisted by suppliers this year through the scheme under the transitional arrangements from the previous voluntary agreement.
	Currently, no changes are being considered for the scheme, but we will keep this under review.

EDUCATION

Academies

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether Academies are able to sell assets such as land.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The Funding Agreements with Academies include a requirement that they cannot dispose of assets such as land without first seeking the consent of the Secretary of State for Education. In seeking such consent, the Academy Trust would be required to make a business case setting out the reasons for the sale, and the way in which any proceeds will be spent. For example, Academy Trusts and Foundation bodies that hold land for Academies which has been either provided or enhanced at public expense can propose the disposal of that land, where it is in the interests of the education they provide. Requests for consent are currently dealt with by the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA).

Children's Centres: Finance

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education from what date local authorities will be required to provide information about expenditure on children's centres; where such information will be published; and whether such a requirement will take the form of statutory guidance.

Sarah Teather: This is the first year the Department has collected and published the expenditure by local authorities on children's centres. Local authorities are required under section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 to prepare and submit an education and children's social care budget statement by 31 March each year and this commenced in March 2011 That legislation also requires local authorities to publish the information locally . It must be made available on a website maintained by the local authority and accessible to the public.

Departmental Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what applications for judicial review have been made against his Department (a) in the last Parliament and (b) since May 2010; whether each such application (i) succeeded, (ii) failed and (iii) remains pending; what legal costs were incurred by his Department for each such application; in each failed application whether he applied for costs against the applicant and whether they were (A) awarded and (B) paid; whether his Department (1) paid for and (2) offered to pay for the legal costs incurred by each such applicant; and what the total cost to the public purse was of payment of the legal costs for each such applicant.

Tim Loughton: We do not hold centrally the information requested. A search and analysis of all records of judicial reviews brought over the past six years would involve disproportionate cost. However, we have the following figures for how much the Department for Education, and its predecessors, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Education and Skills, have paid to the Treasury Solicitor's Department, whom we instruct in most litigation cases, for litigation lawyers' fees and disbursements in judicial review proceedings in each financial year since 1 April 2005. This does not include amounts that may have been paid by the Department for Education and its predecessors in costs or damages to the other side in the litigation. Nor does it include the cost of departmental lawyers' time or of other departmental officials.
	2005-06: Department for Education and Skills: £57,223
	2006-07: Department for Education and Skills: £228,003
	2007-08: Department for Education and Skills (to June 2007); Department for Children, Schools and Families (from June 2007): £252,035
	2008-09: Department for Children, Schools and Families: £277,102
	2009-10: Department for Children, Schools and Families: £361,080
	2010-11: Department for Children, Schools and Families (to May 2010); Department for Education (from May 2010): £253,829
	2011-12 (to 25 November 2011): Department for Education: £258,927.

Design and Technology

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children studying Design and Technology in (a) Sefton and (b) England in each of the years 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 5 December 2011
	We have not made any estimate of the number of students who will study design and technology and related subjects in each of the years 2010-11 to 2014-15. In academic year 2010/11 14,871 pupils were entered for design and technology A Level, and 226,400 pupils were entered for GCSE, in schools in England. In Sefton 54 pupils were entered for A Level in design and technology. We do not have the corresponding number for pupils entered for design and technology GCSE in Sefton.

British Overseas Territories: Students

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on programmes to educate school students about the British Overseas Territories.

Nick Gibb: Students are taught about British Overseas Territories as part of the history curriculum, and this topic can also be studied as part of geography.
	The Government believe that the existing history curriculum does not ensure that children and young people are able to gain a secure knowledge and shared knowledge of British history or the key events in world history. We are currently conducting a review of the national curriculum with the aim of reducing prescription and focusing on the essential knowledge that all children should acquire.

Design and Technology

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of students who will study design and technology and related subjects in each of the next 10 years.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 1 December 2011
	We have not made any estimate of the number of students who will study design and technology and related subjects in the next ten years. In academic year 2010/11 14,871 pupils were entered for design and technology A-level, and 226,400 pupils were entered for GCSE, in schools in England.

Education: Young Mothers

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of mothers aged 16 to 19 were in education, employment or training on the latest date for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: Latest estimates from the Labour Force Survey show that 28.6% of teenage mothers aged 16 to 19 were in education, employment or training in 2010. The proportion of teenage mothers who are in education, employment or training has remained fairly stable since 1998.

Music: Education

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the National Music Plan, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of reductions in local government funding on the provision of music education in schools.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 5 December 2011
	In the current financial climate it is important that public funding is used effectively. We are allocating significant public expenditure to music education because we are determined that every child should have access to a high quality music education, not only those from families that can afford to pay for private lessons. Primary responsibility for music education has always and will continue to be the responsibility of schools, in delivering the music curriculum. In practice, that role has been supported by a mixed economy, with contributions from central Government, local government, schools, parents, community and charitable music organisations and the lottery.
	The new National Plan for Music Education, published on Friday 25 November, sets out Department for Education future funding allocations and a new funding mechanism from 2012-13. We are moving toward a per-pupil national funding formula that will turn around the historical imbalance in funding for music services between areas, with transitional protection to guard against large losses in any one area.
	Local authority funding for music education is clearly a matter for local authorities, but very much hope that they will want to support us in improving the quality of all pupils' music education.

Music: Education

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department has allocated for the provision of music education in the next three years by local authority area; and how much funding for such purposes was allocated in the last five years.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The table shows the Music Standards Fund allocations for music education for all local authorities in England from 2006-11 and the funding allocations for music education in local authorities in 2011-15. Detailed funding for individual local authority areas from April 2012 to March 2015 were published alongside the new National Plan for Music Education, published on 25 November. This is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/subjects/a00200352/national-plan-for-music-education
	Details of funding for 2011-12 were published by the Federation of Music Services and are available at:
	www.thefms.org/the-fem/professional/funding
	We shall place copies of individual local authority allocations from 2006-07 to 2010-11 in the House Libraries.
	The National Plan for Music Education sets out future funding allocations and a new funding mechanism from 2012-13. We are moving toward a per-pupil national funding formula that will turn around the historical imbalance in funding for music services between areas, with transitional protection to guard against large losses in any one area.
	
		
			  £ 
			 2006-07 64,053,456 
			 2007-08 82,562,725 
			 2008-09 82,562,467 
			 2009-10 82,562,467 
			 2010-11 82,562,467 
			 2011-12 (1)77,000,000 
			 2012-13 (2)75,000,000 
			 2013-14 (2)63,000,000 
			 2014-15 (2)58,000,000 
			 (1) Music Education Grant. (2) Music Education Hubs.

Music: Education

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department has allocated to local authorities for the purchase of musical instruments in the next three years by local authority area.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Department does not allocate funding amounts for the purchase of musical instruments. It is for local authorities to decide how they allocate their budget for music education.
	Providing instrumental tuition and progression routes for those wishing to develop their skills are two of four 'core' services that music education hubs will be required to make available to pupils from September 2012. The Federation of Music Services is currently undertaking an audit of instrument purchases so that the new hubs will have a basis from which to plan future expenditure. As part of their contribution to the National Plan, Arts Council England have agreed to extend their ‘Take it Away’ scheme which provides interest free loans via retailers for the purchase of instruments for 18 to 25-year-olds, to five to 18-year-olds. This will make the purchase of instruments financially easier for parents/carers.

Music: Education

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that music teachers are engaged in the implementation and delivery of the National Plan for Music Education.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The National Plan for Music Education recognises that music education takes place primarily in schools, and that schools are responsible for delivering the music curriculum; and that within schools, music teachers have a fundamental role to play. The National Plan for Music Education responds to the findings by Darren Henley that teachers in primary schools need specialist support to teach music, while those in secondary schools can feel isolated.
	Music education hubs will be funded in such a way that will reward partnerships between local authorities and local music organisations. Together these partnerships will open up new networks of music educators, all working to ensure every child has a high-quality music education, including the opportunity to learn to sing, to play an instrument and to play music with others. Finally, the plan announces that a new music teaching module is being developed, to develop teachers' skills in teaching music, and to help them understand the context within which they work in music education hubs.

Schools: Admissions

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average number of pupils was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 24 November 2011
	The requested information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 State-funded primary and secondary schools (1,2,3) : Average number of pupils (4) —England, January 2002-11 
			  State-funded primary schools (1,2) State-funded secondary schools (1,3) 
			 2002 243 945 
			 2003 241 964 
			 2004 240 976 
			 2005 238 980 
			 2006 237 983 
			 2007 237 978 
			 2008 238 974 
			 2009 239 975 
			 2010 241 984 
			 2011 245 986 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies (including all-through academies). (4) Number (headcount) of sole and dual main registered pupils divided by the number of schools. Source: School Census

Schools: Admissions

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to amend the Admissions Code to control the number of lone European Economic Area children studying in the UK.

Nick Gibb: On 1 December, the new School Admissions and Appeals Codes were laid before Parliament. Subject to the approval of Parliament, these codes will come into force on 1 February 2012. The School Admissions Code makes clear that all admission authorities must treat applications, for children coming from overseas, in accordance with European Community law. Where the provisions of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 are satisfied, nationals of the European Economic Area and their children of any age, who come to the UK lawfully to work, or for certain other economic purposes, have a right to reside in the UK. They enjoy the same rights to education as British citizens. This right also applies to EEA national children who come to study in the UK, but are not accompanied by their parents. Non-EEA children of EEA parents, who are not accompanied by their parents, do not have this right.

Schools: History Teaching

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether there are any subjects in British history which his Department directs schools not to teach.

Nick Gibb: Schools are currently required to follow a programme of study for teaching history, but there are no subjects in British history that the Department has directed schools not to teach.
	The Government believe that the existing history curriculum does not ensure that children and young people are able to gain a secure knowledge and shared knowledge of British history or the key events in world history. We are conducting a review of the national curriculum with the aim of reducing prescription and focusing on the essential knowledge that all children should acquire.

Schools: Inspections

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of parent consultations on Ofsted inspections.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Miriam Rosen, has written to my hon. Friend, and a copy of her response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Miriam Rosen, dated 28 November 2011
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	The Education and Inspections Act 2006 section 117 (1) requires Ofsted to carry out its functions in ways which encourage the services we inspect and regulate to be user-focused. In addition, section 117 (2) also requires Ofsted to have regard to the views expressed by relevant persons about the services we inspect. In fulfilling these requirements Ofsted is committed to ensuring that the views of parents and carers are taken into account when deciding how and when to inspect. In addition, Ofsted engages with parents and carers during inspections in order to take their views into consideration and help inform the judgements made by inspectors. This includes, for example, Ofsted's inspections of childcare and early education as well as those of schools.
	Under section 7 of the Education Act 2005 the Chief Inspector has a specific duty to have regard to any views expressed by the parents of registered pupils during inspections of maintained schools. Parents are contacted by letter and asked to inform the inspection team of their views about the school. They can inform inspectors in a variety of ways, including a confidential parents' and carers' questionnaire. Inspectors take these comments and responses into account as they carry out the inspection. In 2010/11 Ofsted received responses from parents or carers of over one-quarter of the pupils in the schools inspected.
	Our analysis shows that overall; parents remain very positive about the quality of education that their child receives. An analysis of 315,182 parental questionnaires returned from 3,679 inspections carried out in 2010/11 shows that 94% of the parents who responded were positive overall about their child's schooling. These results are consistent with the previous year, when 93% expressed a positive opinion overall. The lowest proportion of strongly positive comments came in response to the question, ‘The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns’, but even here 85% of parents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. For the most part, parents who responded to the questionnaire are positive about how schools manage behaviour. As one might expect, this figure varies according to the overall quality of behaviour at the school. Parents in schools where behaviour was judged inadequate or satisfactory are three times more likely to think that the school does not deal effectively with poor behaviour than parents in schools where behaviour was judged outstanding.
	The new framework for the inspection of maintained schools and academies from January 2012 places a strong focus on the views of pupils, parents and staff. In addition, Ofsted recently introduced Parent View, an online questionnaire that will—for the first time—allow parents and carers to give their views on their child's school at any time of the year. Parent View has been produced with the assistance of a panel of parents who contributed to the shaping of the questions and the way the site functions. The questionnaires will cover a range of topics including quality of teaching, bullying and levels of homework, allowing parents to rate their child's school's approach to each issue, with a final question as to whether or not they would recommend the school to other parents. The questions were carefully chosen to ensure that they cover a range of issues which are important to parents but are equally designed to provide Ofsted with the right information to support decisions about inspection.
	Ofsted also actively seeks the views of parents and carers as part of the consultation process when developing new frameworks. 615 members of the Ofsted parents' panel, an online panel of parents whose children attend maintained, schools or use registered childcare, responded to a questionnaire about the proposals.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Manufacturing

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the manufacturing sector.

Mark Prisk: Despite challenging export markets UK manufacturers have responded positively. For example, exports of motor vehicles have now doubled in real terms since the first quarter of 2009.

Airports: Retail Trade

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has assessed the level of retail sales in airports (a) annually and (b) seasonally; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Her Majesty's Government have made no estimate of the contribution of airport retail to the economy, either annually or seasonally.

Airports: Retail Trade

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the contribution of airport retail to the economy (a) annually and (b) during Christmas; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Her Majesty's Government have made no estimate of the contribution of airport retail to the economy, either annually or at a specific time of the year.

Apprentices

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new apprenticeships have been started in each year since 2008-09.

John Hayes: I refer my hon. Friend to the response I gave on 29 November 2011, Official Report, columns 844-6W.

Basic Skills

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that young people have the social and emotional skills needed in the workplace.

John Hayes: Young people develop the social and emotional skills they need for work, and to become adult citizens, by interacting with adults and having opportunities to take responsibility and gain real experience of the workplace. That is why we are reforming vocational education and increasing the opportunities for young people to gain work experience.
	We have given Further Education colleges and providers the freedom to tailor provision to meet the needs of students, including addressing their social and emotional skills where this supports learning and progression. We also continue to fully fund training for people aged 19 to 24 to enable them to get their first full level 2 or first full level 3 qualifications and training for people who are unemployed and actively seeking work to give them the skills they need to get into work. We provide careers advice through the Next Steps, which will become part of the new National Careers Service, to help young adults understand their options and take their first steps into work.
	We are expanding the number of Apprenticeship places by increasing funding for Apprenticeships in 2011-12 to over £1.4 billion, sufficient to train 360,000 apprentices. We have also committed to 40,000 incentive payments to encourage small employers to take on their first apprentice aged 16 to 24. We have launched sector-based work academies which provide a combination of training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview for people who are unemployed.
	We are committed to ensuring graduates are better prepared for the workplace. All universities have published employability statements outlining how they work with their students to prepare them for employment. From September 2012 higher education institutions will be required to publish information about student satisfaction, costs and student employment outcomes.

Business: Equal Opportunities

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to encourage FTSE 100 and FTSE 200 listed businesses to publish the numbers of men and women they employ.

Edward Davey: Government are currently reviewing the narrative reporting requirements placed upon businesses which includes measures to improve the disclosure of the number of women, and by default men, at various levels within individual organisations as recommended by the noble Lord Davies of Abersoch in his review of women on boards.

Copyright: Arts

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to minimise the effect on business of changes to artists' resale rights.

Edward Davey: On 2 December 2011, the Department laid Statutory Instrument 2873 which will amend the implementation of Artist's Resale Right in the UK. The instrument is intended to simplify the administration of the right, by clarifying the nationality requirements for heirs and nationals of non-EEA countries entitled to receive royalties on a reciprocal basis. These changes will come into effect on 1 January 2012. On the same date the 2001 Directive will be fully implemented in the UK, when Resale Right is extended to sales of in copyright works by qualifying deceased artists. I expect the changes made by this instrument to simplify administration of payments following that extension.

Consumer Debt

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to assist those with very high levels of personal debt in the last 12 months.

Edward Davey: holding answer 6 December 2011
	Government are concerned about the very high levels of consumer debt that has built up the economy in recent years and the impact this can have on people's day-to-day lives.
	The Face-to-Face debt advice project is funded by a £27 million grant from BIS in 2011/12, and employs around 500 specialist advisers in Citizens Advice Bureaux and other community advice services across England and Wales. Since 2006, over 470,000 individuals have been helped.
	In order to place debt advice in the future on a more secure footing, the Money Advice Service has agreed to take on responsibility for the co-ordination of debt advice services from April 2012. The Money Advice Service is in the process of securing funding to continue resourcing the existing free Face-to-Face Debt Advice services after 31 March 2012, so that people in need have access to good advice.

Departmental Audit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria (a) his Department and (b) its public bodies use when deciding whether and when to hold an internal audit; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: Internal Audit (IA) in the Department for Business innovation and Skills (BIS) provide the internal audit function to the Department, and 10 of the 61 non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) the Department is responsible for. These are:
	ACAS
	Capital for Enterprise
	Central Arbitration Committee/Certification Office
	Competition Appeal Tribunal
	Competition Commission
	Competition Service
	Local Better Regulation Office
	Low Pay Commission
	Office of Manpower Economics
	UK Trade and Investment.
	Internal audits are undertaken in the Department for Business (BIS), and those NDPBs that BIS IA provide an audit service to, as part of agreed annual audit plans necessary to provide adequate coverage to enable BIS IA to provide assurance to the Accounting Officers and to support the Governance Statements each financial year.
	The plans include a number of internal audits forming core control and compliance work, together with a programme of risk based work. The control/compliance element of BIS IA audit plans is determined at the start of the year but remains flexible over the course of the year, dependent on the Department's and its client NDPBs’ priorities, the evolution of the risk environment and the emergence of entirely new risks. The audit plans list risk-based reviews designed to provide assurance, where required, over key risk areas identified through discussion with senior management and a review of the Department's and the 10 client NDPBs’ high level risk registers. Audit plans are subject to approval by the departmental and NDPBs' Audit and Risk Committees and are kept under regular review. The plans also contain a small flexible allowance for unplanned work allowing timely audit response to changes in the risk profile and developments in BIS, and those NDPBs that BIS IA provide an audit service to across the year.
	BIS IA continues to hold discussions with Directors-General, Directors and client NDPB chief executives throughout the year and updates the audit plans were necessary. The Audit and Risk Committees are provided with proposed revisions to the annual plan as appropriate.
	The timing of the internal audit reviews carried out by BIS IA is determined by a number of factors, including: discussions with senior management and members of the Audit and Risk Committees; discussion with the National Audit Office to align with their programmes of work; and timing based on previous year's plans.
	The other BIS NDPBs use their own criteria for deciding what should be audited and this information is not held centrally.

Departmental Civil Proceedings

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases.

Edward Davey: According to our records, no organisations that have received funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have brought legal proceedings against the Department since it was set up in June 2009.

Design Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on design in respect of (a) logos, (b) buildings, (c) advertising, (d) stationery and (e) campaigns in the last year for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: In the last full financial year, 2010/11, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) did not incur any external design costs with regard to logos, buildings or stationery. There were design costs associated with advertising and campaigns. These costs could not be disaggregated from overall totals except at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Judicial Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on (a) the recovery of legal costs from failed applicants for judicial review and (b) enforcement of any such recovery; and whether any exceptions apply.

Edward Davey: Where the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is successful following a judicial review it will normally seek an order that costs are payable. However, the Department will make an assessment on a case to case basis as to whether securing payment will be cost effective when the costs of enforcement are taken into account.

Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what receptions and events have been hosted by his Department since May 2010, including those sponsored by a third party.

Edward Davey: During the period 1 May 2010 to 30 November 2011 there were 3,973 events held by the Department in the Department’s Conference Centre at its headquarters building 1 Victoria street, London. These events will include internal events with only BIS staff attending and external events where external stakeholders are invited.

Departmental Responsibilities

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure social value is included when services are commissioned by (a) his Department and (b) its public bodies; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project. Public sector procurers are required to assess value for money from the perspective of the contracting authority using criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract, including compliance with the published specification.
	Wider socio-economic benefits that do not accrue to the contracting authority cannot be taken into account at tender evaluation stage if they do not relate to the subject matter of a contract from the point of view of the contracting authority.
	Details of the steps being taken by the Department’s non-departmental public bodies are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Higher Education

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the British Council on the effect on the international reputation of British higher education of Government proposals to give degree awarding powers to institutions which do not carry out teaching or research.

David Willetts: I meet representatives of the British Council regularly to discuss higher education issues, including at the International Education Advisory Forum. I have not had any discussions with the British Council on this specific issue nor have I received any representations from them in response to the recent technical consultation "A New, Fit-for-purpose Regulatory Framework for the Higher Education Sector" which discussed these proposals.

Higher Education: Admissions

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to alter the AAB and above threshold for unrestricted recruitment of university places following the 2012-13 academic year.

David Willetts: The Department stated in the White Paper, “Students at the Heart of the System” that AAB represented a starting point and that it was our ambition to increase the proportion of new entrant places freed from student number controls by the end of this Parliament. We will set out our plans in due course and have asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to consult on future funding arrangements, including liberalising student number controls, in their forthcoming consultation on teaching funding for 2013/14 and beyond.

Insolvency: Legislation

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has any plans to review insolvency laws.

Edward Davey: We keep our insolvency laws under review and liaise regularly with interested parties on how they are working in practice and suggestions for reform.
	The Government have recently published a consultation proposing reforms to the application processes for entry into bankruptcy and compulsory winding-up. Measures are also being considered that might strengthen the regulatory regime under which licensed insolvency practitioners operate.
	Additionally, work is under way to modernise the procedural insolvency rules. As well as a proposed new set of those rules, amendments are being considered in a number of areas to improve clarity, transparency and accountability for creditors and other stakeholders.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 6 October 2011 with regard to Mr P Wightman.

Edward Davey: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 November 2011, Official Report, column 1007W.

National Savings and Investments: Post Offices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with representatives of National Savings and Investments on its decision to stop selling its products through the post office network.

Edward Davey: National Savings and Investments (NS&I) is an executive agency of Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT). As such, I have had discussions with both NS&I and HMT on the provision of NS&I products through the post office network. I would also point out that Premium Bonds, by far the most popular NS&I product at post offices and accounting for 75% of all NS&I sales there, will continue to be available to buy and redeem at any post office.

Overseas Students

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the number of lone European Economic Area students studying in the UK.

David Willetts: There were 128,675 European Economic Area students(1) enrolled on postgraduate and undergraduate courses at UK higher education institutions in the 2009/10 academic year. The Department does not hold information on how many of these students were lone students. Information for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from January 2012.
	(1) Covers full-time and part-time students domiciled in European Union countries (other than the United Kingdom) and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Domicile refers to the country of a student's permanent or home address prior to entry to their course.

Planning: Sculpture

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he will review the effectiveness of the operation of legislation enshrining an artist's moral rights pertaining to site specific sculpture; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, has no plans to conduct a review of this issue.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Edward Davey: The Department does not publish statistical information at postcode level, but uses postcode information to derive geographical data, such as region, county, local authority and parliamentary constituency, and to produce statistical maps. Postcode information is also used in the process of linking statistical datasets and is supplied to contractors for use in surveys to obtain phone numbers through data matching.
	The Department provides the online BIS Assisted Area Postcode Checker which can be used to provide an indication of whether a postcode in Great Britain is an Assisted Area as defined for the 2007-13 Assisted Area Map.

Public Expenditure

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Autumn Statement 2011, column 8231, page 46, table 2.1, what spending decisions are represented by the figures of £30 million for (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15 in line 29: Science of the table.

David Willetts: holding answer 5 December 2011
	This budget is allocated to support the commercialisation of new biomedical technologies, and will fund research, development and testing activities, and leverage additional private sector investment. This will seek to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative technologies from the research base to the market, for the benefit of patients. This budget will be managed by the Technology Strategy Board.

Regional Growth Fund: EU Grants and Loans

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 852W, on regional growth fund: EU grants and loans, how many of the bids to the second round of the regional growth fund (RGF) which mentioned funding from European regional development fund sources were successful in obtaining RGF funding in each region.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 6 December 2011
	Regional breakdown of the successful bids to the second round of Regional Growth Fund which mentioned funding from European regional development fund sources is as given as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 North-east 2 
			 North-west 1 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 2 
			 West midlands 3 
			 East midlands 2 
			 East of England 1 
			 South-east 0 
			 South-west 1 
			 London 0 
			 National 0

Space Technology

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage sales of remote sensing services by businesses in the UK space sector.

David Willetts: The UK Space Agency, under my direction, is developing a UK data service to support businesses in developing new remote sensing products and services and to support their uptake by users in the public and private sectors. In addition, the agency in partnership with the Technology Strategy Board, invests in programmes supporting development of new remote sensing technologies, services and applications. The International Space Innovation Centre at Harwell, Oxfordshire provides a focus for much of this support.
	The UK Space Agency is partnering with Lancaster city council and the Inshore Fisheries Authority to develop Remote Sensing applications specifically to support activities in Morecambe bay. These include monitoring the movement of channels within Morecambe bay and identifying habitats most likely to sustain shellfish beds. These are supported through the Government Information from the Space Sector (GIFTSS) programme.

Steria

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many contracts his Department has awarded to Steria since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract.

Edward Davey: The Department has awarded no contracts to Steria since May 2010.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has received representations concerning (a) the Big Society Bank, (b) the Work programme and (c) volunteering since June 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: As far as I am aware the Department has not received any formal representations concerning the Big Society Bank or the Work programme since June 2011. The Department has received a small number of representations related to volunteering in that time. We welcome the creation of Big Society Capital (formerly known as the Big Society Bank) which will provide new support for organisations which invest in the social sector.

Third Sector: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding over £100,000 his Department's Finance and Commercial Directorate allocated to (a) the voluntary sector, (b) charities and (c) other third sector organisations in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Department does not separately identify funding made to the voluntary sector, charities or other third sector organisations and the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will commission an independent assessment of the contribution of union representatives to business performance in the public sector to include the effect of such representation on (a) numbers of employment tribunal cases, (b) the number of working days lost due to workplace injury and (c) the incidence of work-related illness.

Edward Davey: I have no current plans to commission an assessment of the contribution of union representatives to business performance. The following recent documents give information on the benefits to employers and for industrial relations of having workplace union representatives.
	‘Reps in Action'—how workplaces can gain from modern union representatives (URN 09/931) 2009
	Workplace Representatives: a review of their facilities and facility time (URN 07/1464) 2010

Interships

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether he has estimated the average cost incurred per week by a person undertaking an unpaid internship in London;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people currently undertaking an internship in (a) the south-west, (b) the south-east, (c) London, (d) the east of England, (e) the east midlands, (f) the west midlands, (g) the north-west, (h) Yorkshire and the Humber, (i) the north-east, (j) Scotland, (k) Wales and (l) Northern Ireland.

David Willetts: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 December 2011, Official Report, column 174W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth office, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies do not make payments to individuals as a limited company in lieu of salary. All senior staff are directly employed, are paid through payroll and have deductions for income tax and national insurance contributions made at source through standard PAYE arrangements.

Press Releases

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 862W, on press releases, what representations his Department has made to those newspapers which broke the embargo by reporting the contents in detail of the speech on intelligence matters on 16 November 2011 before it was delivered.

David Lidington: The full text of the speech was embargoed and this was not broken.

Press Releases

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 862W, on departmental press releases, whether a partial text of the speech was given to any media prior to 16 November 2011; whether the publication of detailed extracts from the speech which were published in newspapers on the morning of 16 November were unauthorised; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: Some elements of this speech were provided to the media in advance of delivery. As stated in my previous reply, all public statements are handled in accordance with the Ministerial Code and this was no exception.

Embassies: Festivals and Special Occasions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many embassies and other posts held events to celebrate (a) St George's Day, (b)St Andrew's Day, (c) St Patrick's Day and (d) St David's Day in the last 12 months.

David Lidington: The information is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. Embassies are free to arrange events to celebrate patron saints' days at their discretion.

EU Law: Czech Republic

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the proposal by the government of the Czech Republic for an amendment of the EU Treaties submitted to the President of the Council of the European Union in September 2011 in accordance with Article 48(2) of the Treaty on European Union.

David Lidington: The content of the draft protocol was agreed by the UK—and all other EU member states—at the October 2009 European Council. Protocol 30 on the application of the charter of fundamental rights to Poland and to the United guarantees and clarifies the way in which the charter applies. The draft Czech protocol is helpful to the UK as it makes clear that that the UK and Polish protocol on the charter of fundamental rights shall also apply to a further member state, the Czech Republic. Parliament will further scrutinise the document as the draft protocol is subject to the scrutiny of the relevant parliamentary committees under the provisions of the European Union Act 2011 before the UK can agree to ratify the protocol.

EU Law: Republic of Ireland

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the proposal by the Government of Ireland for an amendment of the EU treaties submitted to the President of the Council of the European Union in July 2011 in accordance with article 48(2) of the treaty on European Union.

David Lidington: The content of the draft protocol was agreed by the UK—and all other EU member states—at the June 2009 European Council. The draft Irish protocol contains clarifications in relation to the right to life, family and education; taxation; and security and defence. It is helpful to the UK as it clarifies the limitations of the Lisbon treaty in a manner which is consistent with our interpretation. Parliament will further scrutinise the document before the UK can agree to ratify the protocol as the draft protocol is subject to the scrutiny of the relevant parliamentary committees under the provisions of the European Union Act 2011.

Israel

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to encourage the British Ambassador to Israel to (a) visit Beer Sheva and the Bedouin villages and (b) meet the Negev Coexistence Forum.

Henry Bellingham: Our ambassador in Tel Aviv has visited the Negev and Beer Sheva on many occasions. He has raised UK concerns about Bedouin rights with the Israeli Government and discussed with Israeli Ministers and officials the Israeli Government's plans for the relocation of the Bedouin community and their concerns.
	We remain in close touch with numerous Bedouin leaders and organisations, such as the Negev Institute for Strategies and Peace and Development. The ambassador plans to visit Bedouin villages and the Negev Coexistence Forum in the near future.

Linda Carty

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to his US counterpart on behalf of Linda Carty; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, wrote to US Secretary of State Clinton in July and November 2010 about Ms Carty's case. Since the UK Government became aware of Ms Carty's case in 2002, officials have maintained regular contact with her, her legal team, her family and the UK non-governmental organisation Reprieve. I met with Jovelle Carty, Linda's daughter, last year. The UK Government have also made their concerns known throughout the legal process and have submitted three amicus curiae briefs to the US courts in relation to the case. The decision on Ms Carty's case is a matter for the Texan authorities. We will continue to raise Ms Carty's case, and the UK's wider opposition to the death penalty, with the Texan authorities and Federal Government.